The Babysitter
by Mulderette
Summary: Callen finds things don't go as smoothly as he'd like when he's left in charge of Sam and Michelle's daughter, Kamran, while they are away.
1. Chapter 1

_I've just been playing around with this for the last week or so, to sometimes take a break from all the angst of "Fight To Survive." Just a little something different. Will likely be three chapters, hopefully finished up before the season premiere._

xxxxx

"Now if there's any emergency, don't hesitate to call, okay? You can reach us if you need to." Sam tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice. After all, this was his partner, his best friend. He trusted him with his own life. Of course he trusted him to take care of his baby girl.

"Everything will be fine, Sam," Callen said with a bit of a smirk, using the tone of voice he used when trying to calm down jittery witnesses at the boathouse.

"Daddy, don't worry," Kamran said. "You know Uncle Callen will take good care of me. We're going to have a lot of fun."

"You see, big guy?" Callen said, giving his partner a light punch on his arm. "You don't need to worry about a thing."

"I'm all set, Sam," Michelle said as she came down the stairs with a purse and a carry-on bag. "Thank you so much for taking care of her for us." She hugged Callen and then gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She then bent down to hug and kiss her daughter.

Sam pulled Callen into a hug and patted his shoulder. "Thanks man."

"What? No kiss?" Callen asked, grinning at his partner.

"Keep it up, G," Sam said grinning back at him. He then picked up Kamran and hugged her tightly. "You be a good girl for Uncle Callen, okay?"

"I will be, daddy," Kamran said as he put her back down on the floor.

"Her medical insurance card and a list of phone numbers are on the countertop in the kitchen," Michelle informed Callen, "just in case you need them. And I cooked some meals that are in the freezer, including your favorite casserole."

Callen nodded and tried to pull off a genuine smile as Sam smirked at him behind Michelle's back, knowing how Callen really felt about the casserole. Sam then picked up a large suitcase from the floor. "Come on, baby. We don't want to miss our flight."

"Bye, guys," Callen said. "Have a safe trip."

"Thanks again, G," Sam said, grasping his friend's hand. "We'll see you Saturday." He and Michelle hugged Kamran again and then they were off.

xxxxx

"So, what would you like to do today?" Callen asked Kamran after her parents had left.

"I don't know…whatever you want to do is fine with me," Kamran replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Callen looked back at her blankly, not really having any clue as to what they could do. It had been easier when she was a very small girl. Playing make pretend with dolls and stuffed animals hadn't exactly been manly activities, but it had been easy to keep her entertained. Now that Kamran was getting older, it was definitely more difficult. He hadn't even known he was going to be staying here until a few days ago. Michelle and Sam had been chosen some time ago to partake in a five day specialized CIA training exercise in an isolated European location. Michelle's mother had been all set to take care of Kamran but she was laid up with a badly sprained ankle and was unable to do so as was Michelle's sister who was caring for their mother. Sam's mom was away on vacation. Not wanting Sam and Michelle to miss this opportunity, Callen had volunteered to stay with their daughter. He figured since he would be at work and Kamran would be at school for a lot of the time that it wouldn't be much of a hardship, but now he was at a loss as to what they could do. "You want to go to the mall?" he finally asked and Kamran's face lit up.

"That would be great! Can we bring Bridget with us?" Bridget was Kamran's best friend. Callen didn't know the girl but Sam had mentioned her many times in the past.

"Uh yeah sure, if it's okay with her parents."

Kamran pulled out her cell phone and quickly pressed the speed dial next to her friend's name. "Hey Bridget. My Uncle Callen is staying with me while my parents are away. He's going to take me to the mall and he said you can come with us. Can you come?" Kamran turned to Callen. "She's going to ask her mom."

Callen nodded then walked over to the sofa to sit down while he waited.

About a minute or two later, Kamran walked over to him and held out the phone to him. "Her mom wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" Callen said, taking the phone. He briefly talked to Bridget's mother and then handed the phone back to Kamran. "Her mom said she can come. We're going to pick her up."

Kamran squealed as she took the phone from him. "Yay! I'm so excited Bridg. We're going to have soooo much fun! I'll see you soon."

She clicked off the phone and looked at Callen expectantly. "When are we leaving?" she asked, excitedly shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Is now soon enough for you?" he asked, amused by her exuberance, wondering if he had ever been as excitable in his younger years. He didn't think so, but then again, he hadn't lived in the kind of home Kamran lived in, with loving parents and an older brother who adored her.

They headed off and arrived at Bridget's house after only a five minute drive. "Hi Bridget!" Kamran opened her window from the back seat and waved at the girl and her mother who were walking towards the car. Callen got out of the car to greet them.

"Hi, I'm Callen," he said, "It's nice to meet you both."

"I'm Angela Ford and this is Bridget," the woman said. "Thank you for offering to take her."

"Sure. It's no problem at all," Callen said. "We won't be home too late. I'll have her home around 5 or so?"

"That's fine. Bridget, don't give Callen any trouble," Sarah instructed her daughter who nodded as she got into the back seat next to Kamran.

Callen said goodbye to Sarah and off they went. About 20 minutes later they arrived at the mall. After Callen found a parking space, he followed the giggling girls inside. "Okay. You can go where you want and I'll just kind of follow along. Just make sure you stay within my sightline so I can keep an eye on you," he directed at Kamran who nodded.

"We'll stay where you can see us, Uncle Callen," she said. "I promise."

"How much money do you need?" he asked, having no idea what to give her.

"I have ten dollars," Kamran replied. "You don't have to give me any money."

He looked at Kamran's friend. "How much money did you bring, Bridget?" he asked.

The red haired, freckled faced girl, blushed bright red when he addressed her. "My mother gave me thirty dollars. That includes money for lunch," she said, staring down at the ground.

Callen reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet then handed Kamran a twenty dollar bill. "Here you go," he said. "I'll treat you both to lunch so you don't need to worry about that," he said.

Bridget blushed even redder as she thanked him and the two walked on ahead of him, whispering to each other. The first store they stopped in was Claire's to look at jewelry and accessories. Since the store was small, Callen found it easy to watch them without having to go inside. About 10 minutes later, the two happily exited the store, both carrying small bags and seemingly having a wonderful time.

After that, they headed to H&M and Callen had to follow them into the store. He was glad he knew how to remain relatively unobtrusive while still being able to make sure they were okay. He was pretty sure they would have been fine inside the store on their own, but he refused to take a chance with other people's children. He knew better than most what a dark place the world could be. The two girls began trying on clothes and Callen fought boredom as they went in and out of the dressing room. He didn't understand how they could possibly enjoy trying on so many things. Thankfully, they finally finished and brought their merchandise to the cash register as Callen wondered how far they could possibly stretch 30 dollars each.

The next store they went into was Hot Topic. Callen followed them inside more out of curiosity than anything, unsure of what kind of a store it was. He found himself browsing through the merchandise in spite of himself, amazed at the amount of merchandise he found for the television show, Supernatural, which he couldn't recall ever having watched. There was also merchandise for Pokemon, Harry Potter and countless other movies, comics, t.v. shows and musical groups. The girls mostly just browsed in that store and ended up leaving without buying anything.

After stops at Icing, Payless Shoes, See's Candies, where Callen actually bought some candy to bring to work, and an overly long stop at Justice for another clothes trying on session, the girls approached him. "I think we're done, Uncle Callen," Kamran said, happily smiling at him. "Where should we go to lunch? The food court?"

Callen inwardly grimaced at the thought of eating lunch at the overly crowded area they had passed by a couple of times. That wasn't happening if he could avoid it. "Would you girls like Italian food?" he asked. He was really hungry by this point and wanted to go somewhere not overly fancy, but where they could get a halfway decent meal.

"We'll go wherever you want," Kamran said.

"Okay, I know a place I think you'll like," Callen said, eager to escape the mall. He shepherded the girls back to the car and drove them to Andre's Italian Restaurant, which was a favorite of his. It was cafeteria style with a casual atmosphere which he thought would be good for the girls. Callen got chicken parmigiana and the two girls got spaghetti and meatballs. With the addition of salad, garlic bread and a piece of double chocolate cake, which Kamran and Bridget shared, they were all pretty well stuffed by the time they finished the meal.

"That was really good, Uncle Callen," Kamran said as they headed back to the car. "I liked it a lot."

"Me too," Bridget said.

"Well I'm glad you both liked it," Callen said, smiling at them as he unlocked the car and they got inside. Then they headed back to the Hanna's residence where Bridget was going to spend the remainder of the afternoon hanging out with Kamran.

Xxxxx

At 5 o'clock sharp, Callen called the girls downstairs and said it was time for Bridget to go home. After the short drive back to her house, Callen pulled into the driveway and parked. "Thank you very much for taking me to the mall and for lunch," Bridget said as she opened the door to exit the car. "I had a very good time."

"You're welcome, Bridget," Callen said. "It was nice to meet you."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Kamran said.

"Bye, Kam!" Bridget got out of the car and closed the door. Callen waited to see that she was safely inside her home and then pulled out of the driveway.

"She seems like a nice girl," he said, glancing at Kamran through the rear view mirror.

"She thinks you're very nice too," Kamran replied. "But it's more than just that."

"Oh?"

"Bridget is in love with you," she whispered, looking very serious. "She thinks you're very handsome. She said you have beautiful blue eyes."

"Um…" he felt his cheeks flush, unsure of what to say. He was very glad Kamran hadn't told him this in front of Bridget.

"Don't worry. I told her you were too old for her."

Callen couldn't help but smirk. "Well, thanks for that."

Kamran nodded. "You're welcome. Besides, I don't think Daddy would be very happy if you dated one of my friends, even if she was old enough."

"No, I don't suppose he would," Callen agreed, trying to hold back his laughter.

xxxxx

"Are you going to make my mom's casserole tonight?" Kamran asked, watching as Callen poured them each a glass of spring water from the refrigerator, then handed her one.

"Well…we had a big lunch. I figured we'd just make sandwiches or something. Why? Do you really want the casserole?" Callen asked, giving her a curious look.

Kamran smiled impishly. "Don't you like my mother's casserole, Uncle Callen?"

"What? Yeah, um of course I like it," he said. "Why wouldn't I like it?"

"I don't know. You tell me," she said, her brown eyes sparkling.

"There's nothing to tell. If you really want it, we can have it," Callen said, wondering if Sam had told his daughter that he didn't like the casserole. "I just didn't think you'd be that hungry, but its fine if you want it."

"I'm just teasing you, Uncle Callen. I don't want it. It's not my favorite either." Kam laughed and winked at him.

"Okay, good," Callen said. Kamran obviously knew something, but he wasn't going to pursue it. The less said, the better. And he honestly had no intention of heating up the casserole this week unless Kamran pushed him into it.

After an easy dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, the rest of the evening was spent quietly. Kamran studied for a vocabulary test she had the next day and Callen alternated between quizzing her and reading a book he found in the family's bookcase, _The Tears of Autumn_. At 9:25, before Callen had to say anything, Kamran announced it was time for her to go to bed. "Good night, Uncle Callen," she said, giving him a hug. "Thank you for taking Bridget and me out today. It was fun. Love you"

"You're welcome, Kam," he said returning her hug. "I love you too. Sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning." He continued reading for about another half hour or so and then he too headed to bed.

xxxxx

The following morning, Callen was up early. He had just finished showering and dressing when he heard Kamran calling him from her bedroom.

"Uncle Callen! Come here! Quick!" Kamran called out, sounding distressed.

Callen headed back to her room and knocked on the door. "Kam? Everything okay, sweetie?"

"No, no it's not okay. Come in, please!"

Callen opened the door and saw Kamran sitting in bed, her eyes filled with tears. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

Kamran shyly pulled up the bottom of her pajama top, exposing the lower part of her abdomen which had clusters of reddish blisters and spots.

"Oh no," Callen murmured, his blue eyes widening.

"What?!" she asked, looking panicked.

"Oh I'm sorry, honey. Don't worry. You just surprised me. I just think you may have chickenpox…Are they itchy?"

"Yes, they're itchy, but I can't have chickenpox. I have my test today!"

Callen shook his head slowly. "No test for you today, I'm afraid. I'm going to go call your school and then call the doctor. If I'm right, you're probably going to miss school for the whole week."

"The whole week?! We're not going to have any fun," Kamran said, pouting. This wasn't at all the way she had expected the week to go while her parents were away.

"One step at a time, honey," Callen said. "I could be wrong. We'll see what the doctor says, okay?"

Kamran nodded, but she didn't look at all happy about her possible prognosis. To be honest, Callen wasn't particularly happy about it either.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to those of you who have been reading and reviewing. This could possibly go on for an extra chapter than I thought so it may not be complete until the beginning of the week. In answer to a question, I'm guessing Kamran is about 11 or so in this story. Also, for anyone wondering, this isn't really interfering with "Fight to Survive." I will still be posting a chapter tomorrow, as usual. Thanks so much everyone._ _:)_

xxxxx

"Well Kamran, you definitely have chickenpox," Dr. Kelly O'Brien smiled at the girl after she finished examining her. She had been Kamran's doctor since she was born. When the answering service had informed her of Callen's call, the doctor had kindly offered to come to the house to avoid Kamran coming into contact with any other patients.

"Her parents are overseas until Saturday," Callen said. "They're technically out of touch, but I can reach them to come home if they need to."

Dr. O'Brien shook her head. "Kamran has been vaccinated for chickenpox and doesn't even have a fever. I believe she'll be uncomfortable for a few days, but I anticipate this being a mild case. I don't think you need to send for her parents." She looked at Kamran. "Unless you feel differently, Kam?"

Kamran shook her head. "No. I think I'll be okay. Uncle Callen will take good care of me."

"Speaking of Uncle Callen," the doctor said, turning her attention back to Callen. "Have you received a vaccine for chickenpox?"

Callen nodded. "I did, the first part, a long time ago, but I had a bad reaction to it." It had been when he was with the CIA, right before he was due to go on an extended case overseas. Almost immediately after getting the shot, he'd started to have a hard time breathing and had broken out in hives. He'd ended up hospitalized and the CIA had to assign another agent to the mission. He'd been told not to get the second shot.

The doctor nodded. "Okay, I'm not going to vaccinate you then. We'll just have to hope you don't contract it. If you do and the symptoms are bad, you'll need to contact your physician."

"In the meantime, what should I do for Kam?" Callen asked.

"Are you very itchy?" she asked Kamran who nodded. "Calamine lotion is good. She should also drink plenty of fluids. I'm going to call in a prescription for Chlorphenamine which helps with the itchiness. A handful of baking soda or oatmeal in bathwater is also good. Oh and no aspirin, give her Tylenol if you need to."

"Oatmeal in the bathtub?" Kamran asked, making a face. "That sounds weird."

Dr. O'Brien laughed. "Yes, I know it does, but trust me, it can be very soothing. "I'll call in a prescription as soon as I get back to the office. Any major change in her symptoms, don't hesitate to call. You probably don't want to expose her to anyone either. She needs to be out of school until the blisters dry up. Hopefully, she can go back next week."

"Okay, thanks very much," Callen said as he walked the doctor to the front door. "I appreciate you coming over like this."

"No problem at all," she said with a smile. "Kamran is one of my best patients. I hope you feel better soon, Kam," she said, waving at the girl.

"Bye, Dr. O'Brien," Kamran called out, waving at the doctor from her seat on the recliner.

"Okay…" Callen said, walking back into the living room and looking at the sick child. "You want some breakfast?"

Kam shook her head. "No. I'm not hungry. I think I'm going to go back to bed for a little while."

Callen nodded. "Call me if you need anything…anything at all, okay? I'm going to call Hetty and let her know I won't be in this week and I'll call your school too and let them know you won't be in until at least next Monday."

"I'm sorry you can't go to work," Kamran said, looking worried. "Will you get in trouble?"

Callen smiled and spoke reassuringly. "No, no of course not. It will be fine. Go try and get some sleep now and don't worry about anything. Everything will be okay."

"Alright."

He watched as Kamran slowly made her way up the stairs and then he pulled out his cell phone to call Hetty.

xxxxx

Hetty had just placed her freshly brewed cup of tea on her desk when her cell phone buzzed. "Good morning, Mr. Callen," she said as she sat down on her chair. "I trust everything is going well with Kamran?"

"No…afraid not, Hetty," Callen said. "Kamran has chickenpox."

"Oh dear," Hetty glanced over at the bullpen where Deeks and Kensi were bantering back and forth. "That's not good. Has she already been seen by a physician?"

"Yeah…the doctor was nice enough to come by before her office hours. I have to admit I'm at a loss, Hetty. What do I know about taking care of a sick child all week?"

Hetty could hear the stress in the voice of her usually unflappable agent. "Oh Mr. Callen, I have no doubt you will do fine. Is she very ill?"

"No…the doctor doesn't think she'll have a bad case because she had the vaccine," he said quietly.

"I see…," Hetty said. "You, on the other hand, never received the second dose of the vaccine, if I recall correctly from your records."

"How on earth did you remember that?" Callen asked. "Anyhow, I'm not worried about me, Hetty."

"I remember everything, Mr. Callen and I do worry about you. Though there's nothing we can do about it now though, I suppose," Hetty said. "You've already been exposed."

"I'll be fine, Hetty. It's Kamran I'm worried about. I don't know what I'm going to do with her for a whole week at home. Plus, the doctor is calling in a prescription for her, but I don't even know how I'm going to get it. I don't want to leave Kamran here alone, but I don't want to drag her out with me and just leave her in the car either. I just didn't expect this to happen."

"No, of course you didn't expect this," Hetty said soothingly. "But that's what being a parent is about, Mr. Callen. Expect the unexpected."

"But I'm not her parent."

"No, but Sam and Michelle trust you, as do I. For now, you are her parent. I have tremendous confidence that you will come through this test with flying colors. Now, as to your dilemma about the pharmacy, I will send Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye there on their lunch. You can tell me where they should go and what you need and they will pick it up for you."

"Really? That would be great, Hetty, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now is there anything else I can do for you?"

Callen sighed heavily. "Is there any work I can do from here?" he asked, not looking forward to missing a week's worth of work.

"You really don't need to worry about work, but if it will ease your mind, I will email you some tasks that you can perform via computer and phone."

"That would be good…thanks."

"Try not to worry, Mr. Callen, and if you need anything at all, I'm only a phone call away, even if you just need to talk. Just call me back after you figure out what you need and let me know which pharmacy to send them to."

"Okay, Hetty. Thank you."

"Good luck. I will talk to you soon." Hetty hung up the phone and headed over to talk to Deeks and Kensi. "I just spoke with Mr. Callen. He will not be in today or for the remainder of the week."

"Why not? Is Callen sick?" Kensi asked, looking at Hetty worriedly. Callen never got sick.

"No, but Kamran has developed chickenpox," Hetty replied.

"Oh no," Kensi said. "That's terrible. Poor Kamran."

"Yes, well, I have faith that everything will turn out fine," Hetty said. "For now, I would like you to perform a review of all our case files from the Harrison case. As we are currently only at half strength, you won't be going out in the field unless absolutely necessary. Of course, you will be available to help other teams if required or perform interviews or any other tasks you may be needed for. I also told Mr. Callen that the two of you will make a pharmacy run for him on your lunch today." With that, Hetty turned around and headed back towards her office.

"Damn…" Deeks said after Hetty had left. "I can't imagine anything worse than being stuck home with a sick kid all week. Poor Callen."

"Poor Callen? Really?" Kensi asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "What if that was our sick kid?"

"Well, of course that would be different, love of my life," Deeks said, giving Kensi his patented irresistible smile. "Though you would probably be home with the sick kid and I'd still be out working hard, bringing home the bread and butter."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't be going to work and you wouldn't be home with our child?" Kensi asked.

"Umm…well of course that would be a possibility, I guess," Deeks said. He stopped himself from saying it wouldn't be a very likely possibility, deciding to change his tactic. "In fact, I would be very happy to stay home with our sick child. I would be a regular doctor, entertainer and chef extraordinaire, all wrapped up in one package. My sick child would be very happy that daddy was home with him or her."

"Good answer," Kensi said as she nodded with a smile on her face.

"I'm sure I can find the two of you something to do if there's nothing to occupy your time," Hetty said, having walked back to them, unnoticed. "I would think with the team down two agents that there would be lots of work, but perhaps I was wrong?"

"Uh no, Hetty. You're not wrong," Kensi answered as she began shuffling through the numerous papers scattered on her desk.

"We've got plenty to do," said Deeks as he opened up his laptop and started typing furiously.

"Good…good," Hetty said with a smile. "Carry on then."

xxxxx

Callen worked until about 10:30 when he decided to go upstairs and check on Kamran. He quietly knocked on her door and then heard her small voice telling him he could come in. "Hey, honey. You okay?" he asked the miserable-looking child, huddled in her bed.

"I…I wish my mom and dad were here," she said as her eyes filled with tears.

"I know you do." He went over to her and put his arm around her. "I'm so sorry you're sick. I was hoping we'd have a nice week together, but I guess it's not going to be so nice for you after all."

She sighed and looked sadly up at him. "It's not your fault I'm sick."

"I know," he said, nodding, "but I'm still sorry. I know you miss your mom and dad, Kam. If you want, I can call and get them to come home."

She sniffled and shook her head. "No. It's okay. I'm not a baby any more, Uncle Callen," she said, looking up at him.

"You sure?" he asked, looking at her seriously. He didn't really want to put an end to Sam and Michelle's trip, but if she really needed her parents, he was willing to do it. Unfortunately, rules were very strict at this training program. There was a strict no-call policy. Callen could reach them if he had to, but if he called, they would be removed from the program.

Kamran nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

"How about some breakfast?" he asked. "I can make you eggs or waffles or whatever you'd like."

"I think maybe just some cereal," she said after inwardly debating.

"Okay, come on. Let's go downstairs," he said.

The rest of the morning was spent with Callen working on his laptop and Kamran trying not to scratch as she alternated between watching television and reading. "This itchiness is horrible," she complained.

"I'm sorry," Callen said, giving her a sympathetic look. "Deeks and Kensi will be here soon." He had searched through the medicine chest in the bathroom but had only come up with an almost empty bottle of calamine lotion and when he had opened it, he had found the liquid to be hardened. "You want to try the oatmeal bath?"

She shook her head. "Not right now. I'm going to go up to my room."

"Okay," Callen said softly. "Call me if you need anything. Try not to scratch."

She nodded and went back upstairs as Callen looked on feeling entirely inadequate on how to cope with this situation. Needless to say, he was very happy when the doorbell rang and he hurried to the door to reveal Kensi and Deeks, their arms loaded with bags, as well as a pizza.

"Hey guys, come on in," Callen said, taking one of Kensi's bags. "Thank you so much for coming."

"How's Kamran?" Kensi asked as they entered the foyer.

"Itchy," Callen stated. He brought the bags over to the dining room and placed them on the table. Deeks and Kensi followed him.

"How are you holding up?" Deeks asked, placing the pizza on the table.

Callen shrugged. "I'm just afraid I'm not doing enough for her," he said quietly.

"I'm sure you're doing fine, Callen," Kensi said, offering an encouraging smile.

Deeks nodded. "Besides, it's not like you have much experience with this kind of thing."

"Doesn't mean I should suck at it either, Deeks. I'm an undercover agent. I should be good at doing this, experienced or not."

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself, man."

"I don't think being an undercover agent is really adequate preparation for parenthood," Kensi said, grinning at Callen.

"Evidently not," Callen said as he started to open the bags. "What do I owe you for all this stuff?"

"It's all on Hetty's tab," Deeks said. "Except for the pizza. We figured that was the least we could do for you. I don't envy you man, not one bit."

"We really need to get going though," Kensi said. "We've been gone a while."

"Already?" Callen asked, looking a little bit dismayed. "Don't you want some pizza?"

Deeks shook his head. "We have another one in the car that we're bringing back with us. Anyhow…good luck. I hate to say it, but I think you're going to need it."

"Deeks!" Kensi socked him in the arm. "You really need to be a little bit more tactful."

"It's okay, Kensi," Callen said with a chuckle. "He's not saying anything I didn't already know. But seriously, thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate you doing this."

"No problem, Callen," Deeks said. "Keep in touch and I hope everything goes okay."

"Give Kam our love," Kensi said. "Tell her we hope she feels better."

"I will," said Callen as he walked his teammates to the door and then went to go give Kamran some medicine and hopefully help her to feel a little bit better.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to those of you who are reading and reviewing. I'm having fun with this story and I'm glad you like it. It will probably be a little bit longer than I first anticipated, maybe another two or three chapters as a guess. Enjoy_ :)

xxxxx

The rest of the day went by with relatively little trouble. Once Callen gave Kamran the medicine and patiently used a cotton ball to dab calamine lotion over her countless little dots, she seemed to be less irritable. The pizza also helped. After dinner though, she was a bit less cooperative.

"So, do I get to stay up late every night because I don't have to go to school?" Kamran asked, smiling sweetly at Callen from the recliner which seemed to be her spot to sit.

"You can stay up a half hour later," Callen stated. "10 o'clock."

"How about 11?"

"You can read in bed if you're not sleepy, but you still need to be in bed," Callen said firmly.

"That's no fun," Kamran grumbled. "I don't have to get up early so why does it matter?"

"You may not have to go to school, but I need to get some work done."

"Why do you always have to work?" she asked him.

"Uh what?"

"Don't you ever want to take a vacation?" Kamran asked. "Daddy takes vacations."

"Well…your dad has a family to take on vacations, Kam…it's different." He was growing increasingly more uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

"You could come on vacation with us. Aren't we your family, Uncle Callen?" She got up from the recliner and went over to him, snuggling beside him on the sofa. "You know mommy and daddy would like it if you came."

Callen put his head back against the sofa. He knew what she was saying was likely true so he wasn't sure what to say to her. "You are my family, Kam…it's still different. It's hard to explain. Your mom and dad deserve to have a vacation with just them and you and Aiden. It wouldn't be the same if I was to go along with you."

She stared up at him her dark eyes seeming to penetrate into his. "But we all love you, Uncle Callen. Sometime, you need to come with us. Pleeeease?"

"Maybe, Kam…I don't know," he shook his head and swallowed hard, feeling a sudden lump in his throat. He was touched by her obvious affection for him and couldn't help feeling thankful to be a part of this family. "We'll see…okay?"

"Okay," She smiled and rested her head against his chest.

"But you still have to go to bed…"

xxxxx

The next morning, Callen got up early once again and decided to make pancakes as a treat for Kamran. He had attended many family breakfasts with the Hanna household and knew they were a favorite of hers. He found the box of pancake mix in the cabinet, read the directions carefully, then measured out the correct amounts of pancake mix, milk, eggs and oil into a bowl and mixed them. He then heated up the pan and poured the batter to make the first pancake. When he went to flip it over it was all stuck to the pan and then it just broke apart. By this time, Kamran had come up beside him and was watching his every move.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Callen asked.

She shrugged, more interested in what he was doing. "You're making pancakes?" she asked, eyeing the mess in the pan.

"Yeah, well that was just a test one," he said, scraping the disastrous first attempt from the pan and into the trash.

She nodded. "I don't think mommy does test pancakes," she informed him.

"Well, I do…it's the best way for me to make them." He was inwardly cursing himself for attempting something so stupid. Frozen waffles would have been a much smarter choice. "You can wait in the living room if you'd like to watch television. I'll call you when they're ready." He had to admit, the way she was watching his every move was unnerving. She was like a little mini Michelle.

"Oh no, I like to watch," she said. "I help sometimes too."

"Yeah?" he raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Do you help make pancakes?"

"Sometimes."

"Do you want to help now? You can."

She shook her head. "No. I think I'll just watch you today."

"Oh…great," he forced a smile as he poured more batter into the pan to attempt the next pancake. This one he managed to turn over and he was happy to see the golden brown color on top.

"That's a good one," Kamran commented.

"Yeah…yeah it is a good one," he said. Maybe this wasn't as hard as he thought. He waited an appropriate amount of time before he put the spatula underneath it to take it out of the pan. He was dismayed to find he had a hard time removing it. When he finally did and flipped it onto the plate, the other side was hard and blackened.

"Eww…it's burnt." Kamran wrinkled up her nose in distaste then looked up at him. "Have you ever made pancakes, Uncle Callen?"

"Well…"

"You haven't, have you?" Kamran shook her head . "I guess you can maybe try one more."

"Okay…one more…" Once again, Callen poured the batter onto the pan. As before, the pancake was golden brown on the top. He cooked the bottom side for about two and a half minutes then used the spatula to look underneath. "I think it looks good, Kam, what do you think?" he asked.

She nodded in excitement . "Yay! Flip it onto the plate, Uncle Callen!"

Caught up in Kam's excitement and the accomplishment of finally making what looked like a perfect pancake, he flipped it up high…and right onto the floor. Then when he went to pick it up to throw it away, he saw a small ring of wet batter on the floor from the uncooked middle part of the pancake. "I guess it wasn't so perfect after all," he said glumly.

"It's okay, Uncle Callen," Kam said. "Not everyone can be a good pancake cook. You can always go to a restaurant when you want some or come here and my mom can make you some."

"Yeah…yeah, I guess I can," he said with a grin as he looked down at her. "You feel like frozen waffles?"

She nodded with a smile. "Those would be perfect."

xxxxx

"I'm bored."

Callen looked up from his laptop. "Did you finish your homework?" he asked. Kamran's teachers had been listing her assignments in an online homework system the school had.

"Yes," she heaved a dramatic sigh. "There's nothing to do."

"You can watch television or a movie, listen to music, use your Ipad, read… There's tons you can do, Kam."

"You don't understand," Kamran pouted. "I can't talk to my friends or anything."

"You can call them after school."

"That's HOURS away."

"Your parents and I didn't have a lot of the things you have when we were kids."

"You sound like daddy." Kamran crossed her arms across her chest sulkily. "That was in the olden days. Kids were different back then."

He nodded. "Yes, that's true. We were able to entertain ourselves." He couldn't help but inwardly compare his childhood to Kamran's. She had no idea how truly lucky she was. Not that he would ever wish his childhood on her. He wouldn't wish it on any child. Inwardly, he debated what he could do for her. She had been very well-behaved this week, in spite of being sick. He really couldn't blame her for being bored when she was cooped up and unable to go anywhere. He had expected they would have been able to go out to dinner once or twice and maybe attend a movie, but none of those things had been possible. "How about I put some money on your Itunes account? You can get some new songs and games." Callen wasn't opposed to bribery at this point. It was Wednesday, just a couple more days and he'd be in the home stretch.

Kamran looked at him with interest. "Oh you don't have to do that, Uncle Callen," she said.

"I know I don't have to, Kam. I want to," he assured her. "Why don't you go get your Ipad and I'll add something in there for you."

"You just must be the world's most wonderful uncle," she said as she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "I'll be right back."

"World's biggest sap," he said to himself with a grin as he turned his attention back to his work.

xxxxx

"I thought I would join you and Kamran for dinner tonight," Hetty said over the telephone. "How does six o'clock sound?"

"Six? Umm…Hetty. Are you sure you want to do that? You probably don't want to expose yourself to Kamran."

Hetty laughed. "It will be fine, Mr. Callen. I have quite an iron constitution you know. In any case, I had chickenpox when I was a girl and I have also been vaccinated. I'm quite confident that I'll be fine."

"I'm fine too," Callen said. "It's already Thursday and I don't have a dot on me."

"Hmm…" Hetty said. "You do realize that it usually takes at least two weeks after exposure for someone to break out."

'Crap,' Callen thought to himself. "No, Hetty, I didn't realize that." He had stupidly started to think he might be in the clear.

"Well, no sense in worrying about it now, my boy. We'll just have to see what happens."

"So…uh, what would you like me to make for dinner?" Callen asked nervously. He supposed he could just heat up another one of Michelle's dishes from the freezer. Maybe he could foist the casserole off on Hetty.

Hetty chuckled on the other end of the phone. "I'll be bringing dinner to you, Mr. Callen. I certainly did not invite myself with the expectation of you cooking for me."

"Oh!" Callen smiled. He was actually going to get adult companionship and a meal he didn't have to worry about to boot. It was like a bonus evening. "That's great, Hetty. I appreciate it."

"See you at six, Mr. Callen."

xxxxx

"She's here!" Kamran screeched when the doorbell rang. Both Callen and Kamran had been very much looking forward to Hetty's visit.

"I'll get the door," Callen stated. "I know Hetty said she had chickenpox before, but I still don't want you to go too close to her.

"I won't," Kamran said, hopping about excitedly.

Callen walked to the door and quickly took two shopping bags from the older woman. "Hi, Hetty," he greeted her happily. "What the heck did you bring? There are only three of us."

"Well, here you are, still in one piece and looking quite well," she said as she inspected her team's leader.

"Yep, and tomorrow is Friday, he said grinning at her. "Almost through the week."

"Hi, Hetty!" Kamran waved at her from across the room.

"Really, Mr. Callen?" Hetty glanced at him, shaking her head. "Kamran, dear. You can come closer than that."

"Uncle Callen said I shouldn't get too close," Kamran said seriously as she came a little bit closer. "I don't want you to catch this either. It's nasty."

Hetty nodded. "Yes, I well remember having it when I was a girl. Has Uncle Callen been taking good care of you?"

"Oh yes," Kamran nodded enthusiastically. "He's the very best uncle in the entire world!"

"Well, that's quite an endorsement," Hetty smiled at Callen who looked a little bit embarrassed.

"What did you bring us for dinner?" Kamran asked.

"Well we have some salad, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob with ice cream for dessert. I suggest you put the ice cream in the freezer, Mr. Callen."

Callen dutifully took the bags into the kitchen and came back out a couple of minutes later. "Hetty, that's a lot of ice cream, "Callen remarked.

"It's only three pints. Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. I wasn't sure what Kamran liked best. "

"Oh I like them all, Hetty," Kamran said, smiling.

"There are also toppings to make some delicious sundaes," Hetty told her.

"Awesome!"

"And…this is for you. It will give you something to do tomorrow," Hetty handed Kamran a bag that Callen had not taken from her earlier.

"Thank you very much, Hetty," Kamran said. She opened the bag and pulled out two coloring books and a large set of colored pencils. "Oh cool! Thank you!"

"I've heard this coloring craze is quite the thing these days," Hetty said to Callen.

"Really?" Callen asked with a smile, eyeing one of the books as Kamran went through the pages. "Some of those designs look pretty intricate. They'll take some time to color. Thank you, Hetty."

"You're welcome," Hetty said, smiling back at him. "Now I suggest we eat our dinner. Some of those dishes may need to be heated up. I trust you can handle the microwave, Mr. Callen?"

"Very funny," he said with a smirk as he headed back to the kitchen.

The three had a very nice dinner followed by a very messy dessert. "Mmm…that was so yummy," Kamran said, "I'm stuffed. I'm so happy you came tonight, Hetty."

"I'm very glad I came too," Hetty said, glancing over at Callen. "Mr. Callen, you have hot fudge sauce on your cheek."

Kamran giggled as Callen wiped his face with a napkin. "Uncle Callen, do you think you can color with me tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Uh…I don't know…depends on how much work I have. I might be pretty busy," he replied.

"Oh I think Mr. Callen will have some extra time to color with you tomorrow," Hetty said. "I'll make sure he doesn't have too much work to do, Kamran."

"Yay! We're going to have fun!"

"Thanks so much," Callen said, smirking.

"Oh you are very welcome." Hetty smiled sweetly. "It will do you good to pursue something fun and creative. You can get in touch with your inner child. Use some color. Make me something pretty. Maybe I'll put it up on my refrigerator." Hetty winked at him.

"Oh that's a good idea," Kamran said. "You can have first choice, Uncle Callen. You can color any picture you want and give it to Hetty when it's done."

"Terrific," Callen said.

"You can bring it to me at work on Monday," Hetty said.

"The team would love that," Callen replied as he turned to Kamran. "You make sure you have daddy color a picture too when he gets home."

She nodded happily. "That's a good idea. Mommy too. Some of these pictures look hard so they can do those."

Callen smiled. "Yes, your daddy likes a challenge. Make sure you pick out a really hard one for him to do. He doesn't like things to be easy."

"Oh you are evil," Hetty whispered in amusement.

"You're the one who brought the books here," he whispered back to her.

They sat together in the living room for about another hour or so and then Hetty announced it was time for her to leave. "Thank you very much for the dinner, the ice cream and the books and pencils," Kamran said. "I'd give you a hug, but I'd better not."

Hetty smiled at the child. "I'll take a rain check on that hug, Kamran," she said. "You can give it to me the next time I see you."

"I'm going to walk Hetty out to her car," Callen said to Kamran who waved at Hetty and shouted goodbye.

"Thanks a lot for doing all this, Hetty," he said as they walked toward her car. "It was really good for her…and nice for me too."

"She seems quite happy in spite of her affliction," Hetty said. "I'd say you've done a very good job this week."

He shrugged. "I let her buy some things on Itunes. I'm sure that helped."

Hetty shook her head. "Don't do that, Mr. Callen. What you and Kamran share is not a result of Itunes or whatever else you may have given her. That child adores you and you simply need to accept it."

"Thank you, Hetty," Callen said, grateful for the darkness so she wouldn't see the blush covering his cheeks.

"You're very welcome." Hetty smiled up at him as he opened her car door and she got inside. "I'll see you at work early Monday morning," she said. "And don't forget to bring me that picture."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ooh that's really pretty, Uncle Callen," Kamran said, openly admiring the picture he was coloring. "So many colors. You're very good at coloring."

"Thanks." He would never admit how much he was actually enjoying doing this. He actually found it to be a somewhat soothing activity. The day was going by relatively quickly. He had gotten up early and worked for a few hours, then had called it a day and had given in to Kamran's desire for him to color with her. He was working on a colorful jungle print while she had chosen an underwater picture to work on. "Yours is really nice too. You're doing a terrific job, Kam."

"Thank you," Kamran said with a smile as she admired her picture. "I'm going to give it to mom and dad."

"I'm sure they'll like that," Callen said. He glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already after 1 o'clock. "How about some lunch?" he asked. "There's leftover chicken from last night or I can make you some soup or mac & cheese."

"I'll just have a piece of chicken," Kamran said. "And maybe some ice cream afterwards?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure," Callen said with a chuckle as he got up to go get the lunch items. He was actually feeling pretty proud of himself. He'd managed to get through the week with a sick child and he really hadn't messed up at all. Sam was going to be pretty impressed with what he'd done.

xxxxx

"I can't believe the week is almost over," Kamran said and then gave a dramatic sigh. "We didn't even get to go anywhere except to the mall."

"I know, Kam. I'm sorry," Callen said, his eyes sympathetic. "We'll do something fun together really soon though, okay? I'll take you to a movie or a show, whatever you'd like."

"Really?" Kamran asked, her eyes lighting up. "We can do whatever I want?"

"Well, within reason," Callen said with a chuckle.

"Maybe we can go to Universal Studios?" she asked, giving Callen a hopeful look.

He considered that for a few moments and then slowly nodded. "Sure, Kam. If that's what you'd really like to do, I can take you there. "

"I think that would be really fun," Kamran said happily.

"And I was thinking that maybe we could go to In-N-Out for dinner a little later? We'll have to order from the drive through but we can eat in the car and go somewhere to people watch if you'd like."

"Yes! That would be totally awesome," Kam said. "You're just the best, Uncle Callen."

"Well, I'm glad you still think so after this week," Callen said, smiling at her.

"Oh I definitely do," Kamran said as she hugged him.

xxxxx

A couple of hours later, Callen and Kamran were situated on some large rocks by a beach. They could view people down on the sand and in the water, but it was far enough away that there was no danger of Kamran exposing anyone to her chickenpox.

"You must be excited to see your parents tomorrow," Callen said before taking a healthy bite of his double-double.

Kamran nodded, her eyes bright with excitement. "I am. I miss them."

Callen nodded. "Yeah, work wouldn't have been the same without your dad around this week," he admitted. "But I got to spend time with you, so I didn't really have to miss him too much."

"I'm so glad you and my dad are friends," Kamran said. She thoughtfully ate some French fries and then looked over at Callen. "You're the best friend he's ever had. He's said that before. You're like a brother to him."

"Yeah, well… I feel the same way about your dad…" Callen said.

"Cause he's your family?"

"Uh huh…" Callen stared off at the water and spoke softly. "You're all my family…"

"I know," Kamran said smiling at him. "You're our family too."

Callen smiled back at her, knowing he couldn't have been closer to these people than if they really had been his family.

xxxxx

"They're going to be here soon!" Kamran said, hopping around the living room excitedly.

Callen watched her in amusement from the sofa. "Wearing a hole in the carpet isn't going to make them get here any quicker, Kam."

"I know, but I'm just sooooo excited," she said. "I wonder if they brought me anything. Do you think they brought me something?" she asked.

Callen chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they'll have gotten you something."

"I'm pretty sure too," she said, nodding in agreement. "Whenever daddy goes away, he always makes sure to bring me back a present."

Callen nodded. He'd been alongside his partner for a lot of those gift- finding missions for Kamran, Aiden and Michelle. If it was at all possible, Sam would always search for some kinds of trinkets for his family in their travels. He glanced around the living room and was satisfied that everything looked pretty much the same as when Sam and Michelle had left. He didn't want them to come home to a messy house.

"Uncle Callen, everything looks fine," Kamran said, giving him a knowing look. "I'm not a baby. I don't make messes anymore."

"I know you don't, Kam," he said, his cheeks coloring slightly.

"You're the only one who made a mess when you were trying to make the pancakes," she continued, laughing. "That was so funny. Wait til I tell daddy."

"Uh, you really don't have to tell your father about that, do you, Kam?" Callen asked, his eyes pleading, knowing his partner would tease him mercilessly over that.

"I don't know…" Kamran said with a sly grin. "Maybe I will and maybe I won't."

"Hmm…" Callen said. "I've got to say, you sure are a lot like your father."

xxxxx

"Oh Sam, will you stop being such a grump?" Michelle said to her husband who had just beeped at someone as he steered the Challenger through the streets. "We're almost home."

"I still don't know how you managed to sleep with that creepy guy sitting between us," Sam said. He had opted for an aisle seat and Michelle had taken the window in the hopes that no one would be between them. But as luck would have it, someone had sat between them and he had talked to Sam incessantly throughout the trip. Sam had even offered to take the middle seat so he could at least sit with his wife, but the guy had refused.

"He wasn't that bad, Sam," Michelle said.

"Yeah, because he wasn't talking to you."

"That's because I closed my eyes and ignored him."

Sam sighed heavily, not wanting to talk about it anymore. The lack of sleep had his head pounding ferociously. At this point, he just wanted to go home, relax and give his daughter a hug.

"You'll feel better after you get some rest," Michelle said with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right," Sam said.

Finally, he turned his car into the driveway, grateful that they were finally home.

xxxxx

"Mom! Dad! You're finally home!" Kamran screeched as Sam and Michelle came through the front door. "I missed you so much!" She flung herself into Michelle's arms and then into Sam's.

"Hey guys, welcome home," Callen said with a smile as Michelle gave him a hug. "How was your trip?"

"Don't ask," Sam said, forcing a pained smile in Callen's direction. "I see the house is still standing."

"I have chickenpox!" Kamran announced proudly, unable to keep the news to herself any longer.

"What?" Michelle looked immediately at Sam and exchanged a concerned look with her husband. "You do?" She looked toward Callen for confirmation who nodded.

"Seriously?" Sam asked. He could already feel the pain in his head increasing. "When did his happen?"

"She woke up with them Monday morning," Callen explained. "She's a lot better now."

"You should have called us," G," Sam said.

"Sam…" Michelle gently put her hand on her husband's arm as she looked at Callen. "Did you call the doctor?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, she actually came to the house that morning. She said it was likely going to be a mild case because Kam had been vaccinated and she turned out to be right."

"Uncle Callen took really good care of me," Kamran said, looking up at her parents.

"I'm sure he did," Michelle said, giving Callen a grateful smile. "Did you have to take the week off from work?"

Callen nodded. "I did, but it was fine. I was able to do some work here."

"Hetty even brought us dinner one night," Kamran said. "And new coloring books and colored pencils."

"I guess you've had quite the week," Michelle said, smiling at her daughter. "Why don't we go to your room so I can take a look at you? I might have a couple of surprises tucked away for you as well." She turned towards Callen. "I'm so sorry this happened, Callen. Thank you for taking such good care of our daughter."

"You're welcome," Callen said. He smiled as he watched Michelle and Kamran head for the staircase.

"Really, G?" Sam asked, as soon as his wife and daughter were out of earshot. "Chickenpox?"

"Yeah, I know," Callen said with a smirk as he turned to his partner. "I could hardly believe it either."

"You think this is funny?"

"No…" Callen's expression turned to one of bewilderment. "Of course I don't."

"You should have called us."

"I asked the doctor about that, Sam…she said it wasn't necessary."

"I think it was necessary," Sam stated. "Our little girl needed to be with her parents. You should have called."

"I asked Kamran, Sam… I told her I'd call you. She didn't want me to…"

"Because she was being brave. She didn't want to ruin our trip," Sam's voice was rising as he spoke. "You were the adult, G. You were in charge. You made the wrong decision."

Callen stared back at Sam, shocked at how quickly the situation was deteriorating. "Everything went fine, Sam. Kamran is fine…I don't understand what you're so upset about…"

"Yeah, I know you don't…You just don't get it, G. My baby girl needed to be with her **_family_** , but you don't understand that, do you?"

The remark stabbed Callen like a knife. A flicker of hurt appeared in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up and his features hardened into a stone-like mask. "I think I should go," he said coldly.

Sam nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"Tell Michelle and Kam I said goodbye," Callen said. He grabbed his duffel bag off the floor and with one last look at his partner, left the Hanna home.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks very much for all your comments about this chapter. I was pleasantly surprised by the response and really appreciate it :)_

xxxxx

Not long after Callen left the house, Kamran came down the stairs wrapped up in a multi-colored blanket and carrying a doll. Finding dolls for his little girl was something that had always given Sam a lot of pleasure on his trips. She had amassed quite a collection over the years. Michelle followed behind her. "Daddy!" Kamran squealed. "I love these gifts. They're beautiful. Thank you so much." She looked around the room. "Where's Uncle Callen? Mommy said you have presents for him too."

"Uh…he had to leave," Sam mumbled, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Kamran's face fell. "Why?" She asked Sam, her eyes rapidly beginning to tear up. "Why would he go without saying goodbye?"

"Yes, why would he do that?" Michelle asked, looking at her husband suspiciously.

"He said to tell you goodbye," Sam said, staring down at the floor.

"That's not the same thing," Kamran said. "He could have called me."

"Yeah well, I guess he had stuff to do," Sam said. "He's been here all week…he needs to take care of chores at his own house."

"He still could have said goodbye," Kamran insisted.

"Kam, sweetie, why don't you go up to your room for a bit," Michelle said. "I want to speak with your father alone."

"I want to stay downstairs with you," Kamran said, looking at her mother.

"We'll spend some time together in a little while. We can order in something special for lunch, okay?"

"Uncle Callen should have been here for lunch too," Kamran said, casting a reproachful look in Sam's direction.

"Did you see the way she looked at me?" Sam asked as Kamran trudged up the stairs. "Why'd she look at me like that?"

Michelle shook her head slowly as she stared at her husband. "What did you do, Sam?" she asked softly.

"Why are you assuming I did something?" Sam asked. "How do you know it wasn't G?"

Michelle sighed softly. "Because you've been a bear ever since we got off the plane, because Callen was in a perfectly good mood when we got here and you weren't, and because you look as guilty as sin. What did you say to him, Sam? What did you say to your best friend, the man who has just taken care of our daughter for a week so that we were able to go away and leave her, who gave us peace of mind, knowing she was in good hands and would be safe and protected?"

"I…" the guilt was already beginning to gnaw at Sam. He wanted to block out what he'd said to G, not recount what had happened to his wife.

"Just tell me, Sam," Michelle said impatiently.

"I told him he should have let us know what was going on here, that he should have called us. I said…" he hesitated, not particularly wanting to tell her the rest. "I said she should have been with her family…but that he wouldn't understand that…"

"Oh Sam…" Michelle whispered, staring at him in shock. "How could you?"

He shrugged, looking miserable. "I don't know…I was just thinking of Kamran being here sick and needing us and we weren't here for her…I just…" he shook his head. "It just came out of my mouth…I wasn't thinking…"

"Callen is her family…he's our family, Sam…"

"I know that," Sam snapped. "Don't you think I know that?"

"I don't know what to think," Michelle said. "All I know is that you were extremely cruel to the man who has been your best friend for a very long time. I do understand that you wanted him to call us, but I didn't think you had it in you to say something like that."

Perched on the top of the stairs, with tears streaming down her cheeks, Kamran had overheard enough. She ran down the stairs and faced her father. "How could you?" she screamed at him. "How could you be so mean to him?! He did everything for me this week. He took me and Bridget to the mall and out to eat. He tried to make me pancakes. He colored with me. He put money in my ITunes account and he took care of me! He took me to In-N-Out and he was going to take me to Universal Studios! You were so mean to him, daddy! You were horrible and now he's never coming back!" She threw herself into Michelle's arms, sobbing hysterically while Sam looked on helplessly.

"You need to find him, Sam," Michelle said to her husband as she stroked her daughter's back, trying to calm her down. "You need to make this right."

Sam nodded. He couldn't believe how badly he had screwed up. With Callen's awful childhood, God only knew the affect his words would have on his partner. To have said what he'd said…he had no idea what he was going to say to Callen, how he would ever make this up to him. "I'll go now," he said, unable to bear the sight of his distraught daughter or the way his wife was looking at him. "I'll fix this. I promise I will."

xxxxx

Callen left Sam's house and pulled out of the driveway as quickly as he could as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. He couldn't even believe it. What he had thought would be a happy homecoming had basically turned into a nightmare. He tried not to think of what Sam had said to him, but the words just kept echoing in his head. _"You were the adult. You were in charge. You made the wrong decision. My baby girl needed to be with her family, but you don't understand that, do you?"_

When he and Sam had first become partners, he had emotionally tried to keep his distance. He didn't trust easily. He'd been burned too many times in the past. But Sam had been so warm, so friendly, loyal and funny. He'd worked his way into Callen's life in spite of Callen's attempts to keep distance between them. Callen had grown to love him like a brother and had trusted him with his life. He'd grown to love his family as if they were his own. Growing up, he had always wished for a brother or a best friend, someone to talk to and to hang with, someone who would always have his back and vice versa. He had thought he had that with Sam. He should have known better. He arrived home, but instead of stopping, he continued to drive. He couldn't stay there. He needed to get away and clear his head. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed Hetty's speed dial number.

"Problems, Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as she picked up the phone. She was sitting outside in her back yard, enjoying the sunshine with a cup of tea. "Aren't Sam and Michelle due back today?"

"They're already back," Hetty," he said, fighting to keep his voice steady and normal. "This isn't about Kamran…I have a favor to ask…"

Hetty waited, but there was only silence on the other end of the phone. "Well, go ahead and ask, Mr. Callen," she urged. "I'm not a mind reader."

"I'd like to take next week off."

"Is there a reason for this sudden request? Chicken pox perhaps?" She hadn't thought he could have gotten ill so quickly, but maybe she was wrong in her assumption. He had reacted poorly to the vaccine in the past. Perhaps that made a difference?

"What? No." Callen shook his head automatically, even though she wasn't there with him. "It's nothing like that, Hetty. I'm not sick…It's personal…"

"Hmm…you do realize that both you and Mr. Hanna have already been out for a week. I really do need you to be at work."

"Please, Hetty? I don't ask you for much and I rarely take any time off." He was trying to do the right thing here, asking permission for the time off and not just taking off and going lone wolf. He just hoped she wasn't going to make things difficult for him.

Hetty sighed to herself. It wasn't the best time for him to be off, but what he said was true. He really didn't take off much time, but she did find the timing to be peculiar. "Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?"

The silence at the other end of the phone told her some of what she needed to know. She only wished he had come to ask her in person so she could get more of an idea of just how troubled he was. "I would have thought you would be eager to resume work after not seeing Sam for a week…" More silence. Had something happened between him and Sam? She couldn't really imagine such a thing. She tried again. "Will I be able to reach you if I need to?"

"Uh…I'm not sure where I'll be," he said vaguely.

"That just won't do," Hetty said. "I don't want you flying off somewhere. If you come down with the chickenpox, you won't be able to travel by plane until who knows when. I won't sign off on that."

Callen sighed. He hadn't thought of that. "Alright…I'll stay local, Hetty. I promise."

"And you will keep your cell phone on so that I am able to reach you if necessary?"

He hesitated. "I will, but you need to do something for me in return…"

"I didn't realize this was a negotiation, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, but relented when he was silent once again. "Alright, fine…what is it you want?"

"If Sam asks…you can't let Eric or Nell track me, Hetty. I…I don't want him to know where I am…"

Hetty closed her eyes, not liking any of what she was hearing from her lead agent. "Won't you stop by here?" she asked softly. "Come and talk to me about whatever is troubling you. Perhaps, I can help you work it out."

He didn't bother to deny that something was bothering him. He'd pretty much told her there was a problem between him and his partner. "I can't, Hetty." His voice broke slightly and he inwardly cursed his inability to keep himself under control. "Please let me have the week? I…I'll be back at work next Monday. I promise."

"You'll keep your phone on for me?"

"I will…just…"

"I'll see to it that Mr. Hanna doesn't track you down." She didn't like this, not at all. Hopefully, she could get some idea of what was going on from Sam. "You take care of yourself, Mr. Callen."

"I will, Hetty…thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Callen. Godspeed…"


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks so much for the nice reviews for the last chapter. I really appreciate the kind words and support :)_

xxxxx

Callen disconnected his call with Hetty, turned his cell phone on mute and tossed it onto the passenger seat of his car. He then just concentrated on the road. At that moment, he just felt the urge to escape. He just wanted to drive away from his job, his home and his partner and leave them all behind. He couldn't believe he had actually been stupid enough to think that Sam would be impressed with how well he'd taken care of Kamran. Instead, he'd been made to feel incompetent and like an outsider, some stranger who Sam and Michelle had entrusted their child to. Sam had always said he'd been like a brother to him, but that obviously wasn't the case. He now deeply regretted that he hadn't just called Sam the minute he discovered Kamran was ill, but he had truly thought he was doing the right thing as the doctor hadn't thought it was any big deal. He hadn't wanted to ruin Sam and Michelle's trip. So much for doing what he had thought was right…so much for his partner trusting his judgement. Obviously, he had been very, very wrong in this case. He'd been wrong about a lot of things…

xxxxx

Sam drove to Callen's house and wasn't entirely surprised to find that his partner wasn't there. He had no idea where to even look for him, suspecting that he had gone lone wolf and not really blaming him for doing so. He thought about calling Hetty, but he really didn't want to drag her into this whole thing if she didn't know about it. That would only make things worse. He was pretty sure that Callen would now be impossible to find until Monday morning. Hopefully, once the two were back at OSP, he'd be able to work things out with him. He decided he might as well head home, not particularly looking forward to the reception he was going to get from his wife and daughter.

xxxxx

"I can't believe how mean daddy was to Uncle Callen," Kamran said. She was seated on the sofa next to Michelle, her arms crossed across her chest, obviously very displeased with all that had transpired since her parents had returned.

"I don't think he meant to be mean," Michelle said gently. "I think he was just worried about you and may have overreacted a bit. You know how much he loves you, Kam. He was just being an overprotective father."

"But Uncle Callen must have been so sad," Kam said, her eyes filled with emotion. "He thought he was a part of our family, now who knows what he thinks…"

Michelle hugged her daughter. "He's still a part of our family. We'll make sure he knows that, okay?"

Kam nodded, with a small sigh, not particularly believing her mother.

Just then, the front door opened and Sam walked into the house as Michelle and Kamran both looked at him as one. Michelle could tell right away from his expression that he had been unsuccessful, Kamran, however could not. "Did you talk to Uncle Callen, daddy?" she asked, getting up and running over to him. "Did you tell him you were sorry? That you shouldn't have been so mean to him?"

"I'm sorry, baby girl," Sam said gently. "He wasn't home…"

"But you said he had things to do…why wouldn't he have gone home? Where did he go?" Kamran demanded.

"I…I just think he doesn't want to be found right now," Sam said. "Don't worry. In the worst case, I'll see him at work on Monday. I'll make everything okay, Kamran. I promise I will."

"You don't know that!" Kamran's temper flared and she stamped her foot. "Maybe he will never accept your apology. Maybe he'll just always hate us forever and ever!"

Sam shook his head which now felt like it was about to pop off his head, it was pounding so badly. "That's not going to happen…"

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" Kamran turned her back on her father and fled towards the staircase, then ran up to her room. The sound of her bedroom door slamming echoed through the house a few moments later.

Sam was about to go after her, but Michelle stopped him. "Sam…just leave her alone for now," she said softly. "Why don't you go upstairs and lie down." She could see how upset he was and didn't have it in her to lecture him anymore. "Get some rest…we'll figure this out."

He nodded and gave his wife a pained smile before slowly trudging toward the stairs. Hopefully, he could sleep and get some relief, then maybe he could figure out how to make things right with G.

xxxxx

Callen decided to drive along the coast, hoping the niceness of the day and the scenic ocean views would help him feel better. He drove for close to an hour and a half before he realized how hungry he was. He started to pay more attention to the surrounding area and began searching for someplace to get some lunch. He wasn't in a very touristy or overpopulated area, but eventually, a small hole in the wall type restaurant called "Millie's Café" caught his eye. He pulled his car up to the front, got out and walked into the restaurant.

Millie Cooper, a friendly-appearing woman in her late 60's looked up as the door to her restaurant opened and the handsome man with the striking blue eyes walked inside. "You can sit wherever you like," she called out to him. The Saturday afternoon lunch rush had died down and there were quite a few tables from which to choose from. She watched as he momentarily studied the available tables and then settled on a corner table by the window which gave him a view of both the outside through the window as well as the entranceway. She picked up a menu and brought it over to him. "Hello there, I'm Millie," she said, handing him the menu. "Can I get you some coffee?"

He looked up at her and nodded. She couldn't help but notice his eyes looked a little bit sad. "Coffee would be good, thanks," he said. She left him and went back behind the counter to get the pot filled with fresh, hot coffee then returned to his table, stopping to retrieve a tip that had been left for her beforehand. "Need more time?" she asked as she poured the coffee into the cup on his table.

"Do you recommend anything?" he asked.

"The meatloaf is a local favorite and the hot turkey sandwich," she said. "But Patrick is an excellent cook. I stand by anything you order off the menu."

"I'll try the hot turkey sandwich," he said, giving her a faint smile.

Millie nodded and headed back to the window to the kitchen where she handed the order slip off to Patrick.

After Callen ordered his lunch from who he assumed was the owner of the restaurant, unless there was more than one Millie, he settled back in his chair and took a look at his surroundings. Millie, a thin woman with short, curly greying hair and a seemingly friendly disposition was the only person working. Although there were only a handful of customers in the establishment, he couldn't imagine she was the only person who worked there if it was more crowded. Maybe there were more employees for the breakfast and early lunch hours. He was trying to stay focused on the here and now and not think about that morning, but his thoughts started to stray in spite of his best efforts. He started to think about Kamran and he felt bad that he had left without saying goodbye to her. She was a child, after all. She wasn't going to understand his abrupt departure. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Millie returning to his table until she had put the food down in front of him. There was real turkey on bread with mashed potatoes, carrots, stuffing, all smothered with gravy and some cranberry sauce and hot rolls and butter on the side.

"Wow…that's a lot of food," Callen remarked. It almost reminded him of Thanksgiving dinner. "It looks great."

"Let me know if you need anything else," Millie said with a smile as she left him and went to drop off a check at another table.

Callen dug into the meal and found that he was even hungrier than he had realized. Everything was really good and he ate almost everything Millie had brought him. Shortly after he had finished, she brought him over a piece of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. "I don't think I can eat another bite," he said, eyeing the pie. It looked very good, but he was really stuffed.

"Are you sure?" Millie asked with a friendly smile. "I baked it and its pretty good if I do say so myself."

"Well…"

"Just taste it," she said.

Unable to resist, Callen put his fork into the pie and gave a satisfied sigh as he savored the combination of flaky crust and hot, sweet apples . "Oh man…this is really good," he said. "I guess Patrick isn't the only excellent cook here. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Millie went and retrieved a wet cloth and began wiping down a recently vacated table adjacent to Callen's table. She couldn't help but feel gratified when she saw him obviously enjoying the pie. "So, I don't recall seeing you here before," Millie said. She knew there was no way she would have forgotten him. "Just passing through?"

"Um…kind of…I guess…" he said, looking and sounding a bit lost.

Millie's heart went out to him. She could see that he was troubled. Her deceased husband, Michael, had always told her she became too involved in the lives of their customers, but he had always been a quiet man, preferring to work behind the scenes and leaving the socializing and customer interaction to her.

"Sometimes it helps to talk to a stranger." She couldn't help but want to know more about him. She could picture Michael shaking his head at her, partly disapproving, but partly amused at her sometimes very obvious attempts to mother troubled souls. "Someone with a totally impartial point of view..."

He looked at her, seeming to consider her offer, but then shook his head. "I should probably get going," he said softly. "Could I have the check please?"

"Any idea where you're headed?" she asked as she tore his check off her pad and handed it to him.

"No…I'm not really sure…" He looked down at the check. "You didn't add on for the pie," he commented. "How much was it?"

"Oh that was on the house," Millie said. "You didn't order it. Besides, we close at 3 on Saturday afternoons. People don't exactly flock here on a Saturday evening. It would have just gone to waste."

Callen didn't try to change her mind but just added on another few dollars to the tip. "That's all set," he said, handing her a wad of bills.

"Thank you very much," Millie said to him. She started to walk away but then hesitated. "You know…" she began. "I may be overstepping here, and please stop me if I am, but my son owns a beach house, just a short distance from here. He moved to the east coast, but we kept the house to rent out. There's no one there right now. Just a suggestion, if you're looking for somewhere to stay. It's quiet, peaceful and right by the water. I'm almost done here. I could take you by to take a look at it. Or you can just tell me to mind my own business." She laughed. "My dearly departed husband was always telling me I butted into people's lives too much for my own good."

Callen thought about her offer for a few long moments and then nodded. "That would be nice," he said. "If you're sure it's no trouble…thank you."

Millie, smiled, pleased that he was willing to take a look. "No trouble at all. I won't be long."

"I can help," he began, looking at her, obviously wanting to do so.

"Well, if you'd like, you can put the chairs up on the tables," she said. "I'll go help Patrick finish up in the back and we can be on our way."

xxxxx

Callen followed along behind Millie as she drove to the beach house. Five minutes later she pulled up in front and he pulled his car up behind hers. He got out of the car and the two walked over to the entrance. "It's not too big," she said as she put her key into the lock, "but I think it's cozy. Certainly big enough for one person."

They entered the living room and Callen was immediately enchanted. The house was small, but it was perfect and had everything he could ask for. The ocean was only about 40 feet away from the house. Millie told him about all the amenities, washer, dryer, microwave, toaster, Keurig and wireless Internet. The bedroom had a king-sized bed with a modern master bathroom attached. There was also a recliner with a reading lamp and a desk. French doors led from the bedroom to the balcony with a beautiful view. The walls were tastefully decorated with paintings of seascapes while the living room had a blue sofa and matching chair with multiple bookcases containing countless books. It was the exact opposite of his own minimally furnished home, but he loved it. It was perfect.

He turned to Millie, feeling a little bit better for the first time since Sam and his wife had returned earlier that day. He now had a place to mull things over without having unwanted disturbances. "How much would it be to rent it for the week?" he asked. "I'd like to rent it until next Sunday if that's possible."

She nodded, glad that he liked the house. "One hundred dollars a night?" she asked. "Does that work for you?"

"Are you sure?" he asked, giving her a questioning look. That seemed impossibly cheap to him. "I mean…shouldn't it be more?" He had the money. He certainly wasn't overly frivolous with money. He could afford whatever the going rate was for such a place. He didn't want to take advantage of this kindly woman.

She nodded again. She hadn't expected anyone to be renting it that week. Any extra money at all would be welcome and she didn't wish to overcharge him.

"Okay…thank you," he said, a trace of a smile on his lips as he looked around once more. "I'll take it."


	7. Chapter 7

_I wasn't expecting to have another chapter out yet, but snow days are good for writing so here you go. As always, thanks so much for reading and for your reviews._ :)

xxxxx

After Millie left him, Callen set about exploring the rental home on his own. The homey feeling of it actually made him rethink his minimalistic lifestyle. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get one or two bookshelves and fill them with books and perhaps hang a picture or two. It was something to consider anyway. After looking around the house, he decided to take a walk along the beach. It was a nice day, windy but warm, and except for a handful of people out walking or jogging, he seemed to be staying in a pretty isolated area. It appeared to be a perfect place for him to relax and try to get a handle on things.

Following his walk, Callen headed back to the house and browsed through the various books on the shelves. He grabbed a novel which he thought might interest him and settled down to read. Dinner time came and went, but he had eaten a late lunch and was definitely not hungry for a meal. He could have used a snack, but it wasn't important enough for him to go out in search of one. He just figured he would go out the following day and buy some snack-type foods, drinks and maybe some ice cream. At around 9 p.m. he decided to call it a day. He undressed and stretched out on the bed, finding the mattress to be exceedingly comfortable. He then drifted off to sleep, listening to the sound of the waves washing up on the shore, as the gentle breeze wafted over him through the screen door leading to the balcony.

xxxxx

Dinner in the Hanna household that evening was a dismal affair. After a little bit of sleep, Sam's headache had finally gone from an intense pounding to a dull throb. He, Michelle and Kamran were seated at the table eating Michelle's baked macaroni and cheese casserole, which was one of Kam's favorites. The youngest Hanna family member was just picking at her food though, obviously still in a mood over what had happened between Sam and Callen. Sam wasn't really eating much either.

Michelle sighed. "Not eating isn't going to fix anything," she finally said.

"I'm not very hungry," Kamran said, looking at her mother woefully. "Can I be excused please?"

Michelle hesitated and then nodded. "Go ahead."

Kamran quickly got up and fled from the table, escaping back to the sanctuary of her bedroom.

"You should have made her eat," Sam said, putting his fork down beside his plate.

"Really, Sam?" Michelle said. "And what about you? Should I make you eat too?"

"I'm not a child."

"No, maybe not, but you're acting like one."

"I'm not acting like a child," Sam retorted.

"You're sulking, Sam and that's not going to solve the problem."

"What would you have me do?" he asked her, barely keeping his anger in check. "I don't know where he is."

"I know that, but it's not a permanent situation. Maybe you should be thinking about exactly how you're going to work through this once you do find him."

"I'll figure it out."

"Have you talked to Hetty? Does she know what's going on? How do you know he isn't there?"

"No, I haven't talked to Hetty and he wouldn't have gone running to her."

"Fine, Sam." Michelle got up and began to clear the table. Sam quickly got up and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll do that," he said softly.

She looked up at him and nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I'll be in the living room."

He watched as she left the room and he began to stack the dishes, his mind on his partner and how a few unwise words had brought about such damage to Callen and caused such a breech between them.

xxxxx

Callen awoke a little bit after eight. For a split second he was confused about his surroundings, but then he remembered all that had happened the previous day. In spite of that, he had slept like a rock, which was an unusual occurrence for him. He sat up and fluffed the pillows, then leaned his back against them. He wasn't really sure what to do with himself. He debated on going to get some breakfast, but he wasn't all that hungry at the moment and Millie's place would likely be crowded with the Sunday morning breakfast crowd. He'd prefer waiting until it was at least a little bit quieter. His thoughts went to his partner and Sam's words the day before. Did Sam really have so little trust in him that he had disagreed with every decision Callen had made regarding Kamran? Didn't he realize how Callen felt about his family? Maybe that was the problem…Maybe Sam didn't realize it. Maybe what Callen had felt for Sam and his family was a one-way street. Maybe it was inappropriate how Callen felt about them and all of Sam's words over the years about how they were 'brothers' were just words. Feeling overwhelmingly sad, Callen got up and put on shorts and a t-shirt, deciding to go for a run. Hopefully, that would help him to at least temporarily, put his troubles behind him.

xxxxx

Sam did not sleep well. He kept rerunning the words he had spoken to Callen in his mind and he wished he could set the rewind button and change them. Why hadn't he just expressed his appreciation for Callen taking care of his daughter? The combination of his headache, exhaustion and just overall crankiness had taken their toll and in turn, he had slammed the easiest target in his path. At a little after 5 am, he finally got out of bed and showered. He was getting dressed when Michelle rolled over in bed and looked at him sleepily. "Sam? What are you doing?"

"Go back to sleep, baby…I'm going to see if I can find him."

"At 5 in the morning? He's probably sleeping, like you should be."

"I can't sleep," Sam said. "I need to try."

Michelle sighed softly and nodded. "Alright…good luck."

"Thanks, baby. I'll see you later."

He left her and walked out to the Challenger, heading first to Callen's house. His partner's car was not in the driveway, but Sam still got out of his vehicle. He looked inside the mailbox which had a few assorted pieces of mail in it. "So, you didn't even stop here at all," he said to himself. It made him feel even worse to realize that Callen had been so upset he hadn't even stopped at his own home. He got into the Challenger and decided to drive around to some of Callen's favorite places to go. Maybe he'd be lucky. "I'm so sorry, G," he said quietly as he drove. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

xxxxx

Callen went for a run and then went back to the beach house to shower and dress. He then decided to throw all the clothes in his duffel bag into the washing machine. He took the book he was reading and went out to the balcony to read and wait for the laundry to be done. It was hard for him to concentrate on the book though as he kept thinking about Kamran. Finally, unable to stop himself from doing so, he picked up his cell phone and hit the button with her name on it.

xxxxx

Kamran was lying on her bed coloring a picture when the phone rang. She squealed happily when she saw who was calling her. "Uncle Callen!" she said as she clicked on the phone. "I am soooo happy to hear from you. I am so mad at daddy. Mom is too. She is very angry with him."

"Hi Kam," Callen said, once he could get a word in. "I wanted to apologize to you for leaving so quickly yesterday."

"Oh that's okay. I know it wasn't **_your_** fault," she assured him.

There was a part of him that couldn't help but be pleased that Kamran and Michelle were angry with Sam, no matter how petty that thought might be.

"Daddy is out looking for you," she said, sounding almost gleeful. "He's very upset with himself. He knows he treated you terribly."

"He's looking for me?" Callen asked. Damn… that wasn't good. He hoped Hetty was keeping her word and that she wasn't going to allow Sam to use the resources at OSP to find him. He hadn't even thought he would need to worry about Sam until he went back to work.

"He left very early. He was even gone before breakfast. No pancakes for him. But then he called Mom. He said he has no idea where to look because you're not at your house. Did you finally decide to take a vacation?"

"Yeah…something like that," Callen said vaguely.

"Did you go far away?" She asked curiously. "I won't tell daddy where you went."

"I don't want you to have to lie to your father, Kam," Callen said. "I found a nice place. It's a house right on the beach." That wasn't too much information. There were countless houses on beaches in California. There was no way Sam could track him from that information.

"That sounds very nice," Kamran said. "I'm glad you found a good place for a vacation, but aren't you lonely?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted, feeling a little bit emotional. "But I'm fine, Kam, okay? I just wanted to let you know that."

"Thank you, Uncle Callen," she said. "I'm very glad you called me. You were the best babysitter in the whole world. Thank you for taking care of me. I think you did a great job!"

"Thanks, Kam. I'm glad you think so," he said with a chuckle.

"Should I keep it a secret that you called?" she asked.

"No, sweetheart," Callen said. "Like I said, I don't want you to have to lie to your dad, even a lie of omission. It's okay to tell him I called you, but unless I call you, don't try to call me back okay? I probably won't answer it…"

"Because you're mad at daddy?"

"No…" He wasn't about to further intensify whatever bad feelings Kamran had towards her father. "I'm just going to have my ringer off, because I'm on vacation…"

"Okay, Uncle Callen. I love you. I hope you have a fun vacation."

"Thanks, Kam. I love you too." He clicked off his phone and somehow felt a little bit better about things. At least he knew Michelle and Kamran had his back, even if his partner and so-called best friend did not.

xxxxx

After his laundry was done, Callen got into the car and headed for Millie's Café. It was actually getting close to lunchtime. He had assumed it wouldn't be too crowded later in the morning, but he really had nothing to base that assumption on. A lot of people ate late, leisurely breakfasts on Sunday mornings. There were definitely more cars parked outside than there had been the previous day. "Good morning, Grisha," Millie said when he entered the restaurant. "Sit wherever you'd like."

Millie had asked to see his license when they had filled out the house rental agreement form, so she had seen his name. It was still kind of weird whenever someone called him by his given name, but he supposed it was nice too. The restaurant was more crowded than the day before, but his previous table was unoccupied so he took a seat there. As he sat down and looked around, he was gratified to see two other waitresses working in the diner, both were young, maybe college age. It was good to know Millie didn't have to work alone. "Did you sleep well?" Millie asked as she arrived at his table and poured him a cup of coffee.

"Very well," he said with a nod. "It's a great place."

"Good, good, I'm glad you like it," she said. "Are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

"I'll have the breakfast combo number one," he said. "Eggs over easy, wheat toast and home fries."

Millie quickly scribbled down his order and headed back behind the counter as Callen scanned the clientele in the restaurant. There were two older couples, one family with two young children and a trio of middle-aged women. By the time his breakfast arrived, a short time later, the family and the table of women had left. "Mind if I take a seat? I'm long overdue for a break." Millie waited for his nod before she sat down across from him. "I won't be offended if you tell me to bug off."

"I'd enjoy the company," he said, smiling at her. "Busy morning?"

"Not too bad," she said. "Pretty typical Sunday morning."

"This is good," he said, after eating a few bites of food. "So, how long have you had this place?"

"Oh, a long time," Millie said, thinking back. "My husband and I opened it up right after our youngest started school. That was almost thirty-five years ago." She laughed. "Damn, time really does fly by when you actually sit down and think about it."

"How many children do you have?" he asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Three, two boys and a girl. Ben is my oldest. He's the one whose beach house you are staying in. He's out in Boston now with his family. Then there's Sarah and my youngest is John. They're both local. How about you? Any children?"

He shook his head. "No…"

Millie looked at him thoughtfully, there had seemed to be a flash of emotion in his eyes when she asked the question. "And what about work?" she asked, with a gentle smile. "Unless you just travel the country staying at various beach houses?"

"No," Callen said with a chuckle. "I…I'm actually in law enforcement."

"Well, that's good and noble work," she said. "Helping to protect us from some of the evil doers in the world. You should be proud."

He shrugged, looking down at his plate as he ate some more of his breakfast, not knowing what to say.

"Modest too, I gather?" she asked, smiling at him. Her smile deepened when a faint blush covered his cheeks. He was such a nice man. She wanted to know more about him, but feared being too pushy. "So, you're from Los Angeles…you didn't stray too far away for your vacation…"

"It…it wasn't really a planned vacation…"

"Oh? Well, sometimes spur of the moment trips are the best kind."

He nodded. "I guess…I…" He hesitated, taking another sip of coffee.

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to pry. Whatever your reasons are for coming out here are your own business. You certainly don't owe me any explanations."

"I don't mind," he said softly. What could it hurt? She didn't know any of the people involved. It wouldn't really matter if he told her. "With my job…I have a partner…we've been partners for about 10 years now. Anyhow, I've always thought of him as my best friend. I'd always have his back and I knew he'd have mine…"

She nodded, not saying anything.

"Anyhow…he and his wife, went on a trip. I can't really explain, but they couldn't receive any outside calls. If they did, they'd have to return home."

"That sounds harsh," she said.

Callen nodded. "I took care of their daughter while they were away and…she came down with chicken pox."

"Oh dear," Millie commented. "That's certainly no fun, not for either of you."

"Not for her, no. For me, it wasn't so bad. I called the doctor and she said she thought it would only be mild as she had been vaccinated. She didn't think I had to call her parents. I didn't want to ruin their trip…"

"Oh…I take it your partner was not in agreement with your decision?"

Callen shook his head slowly. "No…he wasn't…"

"Well, sometimes dads are just super protective of their little girls. I'm sure he'll come around."

"I guess…It's just…he said some stuff…stuff I never thought he'd say to me…"

"Something you can't forgive?"

"I don't know," said Callen with a sigh. "Maybe I could forgive him, but…it's just the kind of thing I wouldn't have expected from him, of all people. He knows more about me than anyone else. I trusted him with my life."

"And now you don't?"

"I don't know…but that's why I came out here. I just had to get away. The thought of having to work with him tomorrow…I don't know, I just couldn't deal with it."

"I don't know him…and I don't know you very well either, but it sounds like you just need a little bit of time and space to clear your head. Sometimes people in this world disappoint us, Grisha. It's the people we are closest to who have the ability to hurt us the most. I guess you have some thinking to do, and I think you picked out a pretty nice place to try to do that. And if there's anything I can do for you… If you want another opinion or just need someone to listen, I'd be more than happy to do that for you."

"Thank you, Millie," Callen said.

"I'll let you finish your breakfast," she said, smiling at Callen before getting to her feet and getting back to work.

Callen returned Millie's smile and went back to eating his breakfast, his thoughts once again on Sam and his family.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks for all the nice and supportive reviews for the last chapter. So glad you're enjoying it :)_

xxxxx

"I sure will be glad to get back to work today and get things straightened out with G," Sam said. He and his family were sitting at the table together, eating breakfast.

"I'm happy I get to go back to school too," Kamran said. She was practically bouncing in her seat, she was so excited. "Sometimes I think I hate school, but when I was home, I really missed it. I miss Bridget and all my friends."

"Kam, sweetie, do you have all your homework together?" Michelle asked as she handed her daughter some buttered toast to go with her cereal.

Kam nodded, "I have everything."

"So have you decided what you're going to say to him?" Michelle turned her attention to her husband.

"Not exactly," Sam said. "I'm sure I'll figure it out once I see him."

"What if he's still angry with you?" Kamran asked.

"I'm sure I can get him to see that I'm very sorry for what I said to him," Sam said.

"What if Uncle Callen isn't at work?" Kamran asked, with a giggle. "Maybe he's on vacation."

"He's not on vacation," Sam said. "He just had a week off."

"Really, Sam?" Michelle asked him with a look of disbelief. "That's what you think last week was for him? A week off? Didn't he say he did some work at home? And he certainly wasn't getting much R&R."

"Maybe Uncle Callen is at Disneyland," Kamran said, laughing. "Maybe he went to the Grand Canyon."

"Your Uncle Callen isn't at any of those places, Kamran," Sam said patiently. "He's going to be at work and I'm sure everything is going to be fine between us, okay?"

"Whatever you say, daddy," Kamran said, giggling again and hiding her mouth behind her hand. "I have to go. I don't want to miss the bus. Have a good day. Tell Uncle Callen I said hello." Kamran then started laughing again as she ran off to get her backpack. "Bye mom!"

"Have fun, sweetheart," Michelle said, looking on in amusement at her daughter as she ran outside, slamming the door behind her.

"What's gotten into her?" Sam asked, not looking particularly amused. "One minute she's mad about Callen, the next minute it's like she thinks the whole thing is a joke."

"Oh Sam, don't start getting all grouchy again," Michelle said. "She's young and she's excited to be going back to school. Would you prefer her to be miserable?"

"No, of course I wouldn't," Sam said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, baby…I guess this thing with G is just really getting to me."

"I know it is." Michelle looked at him sympathetically. "You should probably get going. The sooner you get there, the sooner you'll be able to put this all behind you. And make sure you invite him for dinner tonight or as soon as he can make it, okay?"

"I will," Sam said, smiling at her as he got up from the table then leaned down to kiss her. "I'll let you know how it goes."

"Good luck, Sam," Michelle said. "I hope this goes the way you want it to."

xxxxx

"And the king of the second honeymoon returns!" Deeks said enthusiastically as Sam walked over to his desk. "How are you, Sam? How was your trip?"

"It wasn't a second honeymoon, Deeks," Sam said. "It was a very intense training course. You know that."

"I'm sure you had had some time for fun, didn't you," Kensi chimed in from her desk. "In any case, did you have a good time?"

"It was fine," Sam replied shortly.

"How's Kamran?" Kensi asked. "Poor Callen was so worried. I felt so bad for him. He was so afraid he wasn't doing enough for her."

"But he did great, didn't he?" Deeks said, grinning at Sam. "Hetty said he came through like a champ."

"Is G here yet?" Sam asked.

"No," Kensi said, shaking her head. "We kind of thought he'd be coming in with you today."

"No…not today," Sam said glumly as he sat down at his desk, feeling more guilty by the second. He really hoped his partner would be there soon.

xxxxx

"I don't understand…" Eric said, looking at Hetty unhappily. "Why doesn't Callen want Sam to know where he is?"

"That really isn't our concern, Mr. Beale. I just want your and Miss Jones' word that you will not give in to any request Mr. Hanna may have to track down his partner. I promised Mr. Callen that we would keep his secret."

"Don't you think it's kind of weird, Hetty?" Nell asked. "They're partners…it doesn't make any sense."

"Please just promise me, Miss Jones," Hetty said. "No matter how weird you may think it is. It really isn't your job to analyze why he's making the request. Please just make sure you do what Mr. Callen asked."

"What if Callen was in trouble?" Eric said. "Maybe someone was forcing him to say that."

Hetty sighed wearily. "I can assure you that he was saying this on his own. No one was forcing him to do or say anything against his will."

"I promise, Hetty," Nell finally said. "I won't give Sam any information about Callen's whereabouts."

"Yeah, okay…I promise too," Eric said reluctantly.

"Thank you," Hetty said. "That's all for now. You can get back to work." Hetty then left them and headed back downstairs where she found Sam waiting for her at her desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said as she sat down. "How was your trip? I trust you and Michelle had a fulfilling time?"

"Do you know where he is?" Hanna asked, ignoring her question.

"If by he, you're referring to Mr. Callen, I have no idea where he is," Hetty replied. "In fact, I was hoping you could fill me in. What exactly happened between the two of you?"

"So you did talk to him." When?"

"I spoke with him on Saturday. He requested vacation time which I gave to him. Although he tried to cover it up, he was obviously very upset."

"How much time off did you give him?" Sam asked, feeling totally at a loss with this newest development.

"One week," Hetty informed him. "He assured me he would be back at work next Monday. Now would you please give me some idea of what this is all about?"

Sam ran his hand over his face and sighed. "I said something to him I never should have said. I was angry about Kamran and…"

"What about Kamran?" Hetty interrupted him. "She seemed to be doing quite well when I saw her Thursday evening. Did she take a turn for the worse?"

Sam shook his head. "No…no Kam is fine. She's going back to school today."

"So, what is it you were angry about?" Hetty asked, looking puzzled.

"Chickenpox isn't like a cold, Hetty," Sam began. "I think he should have called us and let us know what was going on."

"It was a very mild case, Sam," Hetty said. "The doctor said as much. Mr. Callen didn't want to ruin your trip. He thought he was doing the right thing. I can tell you that he took very good care of your daughter. She adores him and from what I've seen, the feeling is quite mutual."

"I know he took good care of her," Sam admitted with a sigh.

"I still can't imagine he got so upset over you thinking he should have called you. Unless…just how heated did the disagreement between the two of you get?"

"You probably don't really want to know."

"Surely it didn't get physical?" Hetty asked.

"No…nothing like that." Sam shook his head and spoke quietly. "I… I told him that Kamran needed to be with family, but…but that he didn't understand that…"

"I see…"

"Come on, Hetty," Sam said after a few long moments of silence. "I know you've got more to say than 'I see.'"

"How does Michelle feel about all this?" Hetty asked.

"She's one hundred percent on G's side," Sam stated. "As is Kamran."

"She's an opinionated child," Hetty said, a faint smile touching the corners of her lips.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Sam asked.

"I'm pretty sure there's nothing I have to say that you haven't already said to yourself by now. I can see how unhappy you are with the situation and I know that you're sorry. I know how close you are to him. I dare say he's probably told you things in the past that I don't even know about. He's always trusted you…"

"But now?"

"I don't know, Sam…" Hetty said, shaking her head. "I really don't know."

"Do you know where he went?" Sam asked. "I can't try to fix this until I can find him."

"He didn't tell me where he was going."

"Okay, not a problem. It's a long shot, but maybe his phone is on. Maybe the wonder twins can track him down."

"No."

"No?" Sam gave Hetty a bewildered look. "What do you mean, no? I need to at least try, Hetty. I don't want to have to wait a week to talk to him."

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I promised him I would not allow Eric and Nell to track him down. I intend to keep that promise."

"You mean, he doesn't want me to track him down, don't you," Sam said, appearing to deflate in front of Hetty's eyes. "I can't believe I was so stupid…I really wish I hadn't said those words to him…"

"I think you'll be able to mend this, Sam, but it may take time. You know how deep his trust issues lie, how hard it is for him to get close to people…"

"I know, Hetty…I really screwed this up."

"Well…I guess you'll have plenty of time to think about it," Hetty said. "A whole week, in fact."

"Yeah…I guess I will…thanks…" He forced a grim smile in Hetty's direction then got to his feet and went back out to his desk.

"What's up?" Deeks asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

"Nothing's up." Sam turned on his laptop in an attempt to look busy.

"So, did you find out where Callen is?" Kensi asked.

"He's on vacation."

"Vacation?" Deeks asked. "Well that's weird. Wouldn't he have told you he was going?"

Sam ignored him and Kensi shot Deeks a warning look with her eyes.

"I mean, he took care of your kid for a week and then he takes off on vacation? These pieces aren't exactly fitting the puzzle, Sam, my man. Unless, did he need to recover from taking care of Kam. Oh! I know! Does he have chickenpox? He does, doesn't he?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sam asked, looking at Deeks angrily. "How can you not see that I don't want to talk about this, not even a little bit? I would tell you if he had the damn chickenpox!"

"I…"

"Something happened that I don't want to talk about and I'm not going to talk about. Callen is gone until next Monday and I don't want to hear another word about it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, fine," Deeks said giving Sam a wary look. "Whatever you say, Sam."

"Good. And now I am going to go work out." Sam pushed his chair back from his desk and stormed off, leaving Kensi and Deeks looking after him in total confusion.

"It's going to be one terrific week," Deeks muttered. "Let's hope you and I get sent out in the field **a lot**."

Kensi nodded in agreement, but she couldn't help but be worried about whatever was going on between the two senior agents of their team.

xxxxx

Sam entered the house feeling as exhausted as he had felt after getting off the plane on Saturday. He had been in a bad mood all day. Kensi and Deeks had steered clear of him as had Eric and Nell. He had thought about approaching them, but felt like Hetty had been watching him constantly so he hadn't. Maybe he would try tomorrow.

"Hi sweetheart, how was your day?" Michelle came into the living room from the kitchen. "No Callen for dinner?"

"No."

Kamran came down the stairs just then, doing a combination of walking and dance moves as she listened to her Iphone. "Hi daddy."

"Hi pumpkin," Sam said.

"So, did you get things sorted out between the two of you?" Michelle asked.

"Not exactly."

"Why not?"

"Because Uncle Callen is on vacation!" Kamran said, breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Wait? What?" Sam looked over at his laughing daughter. "You…you knew and you didn't tell me? I…how did you know?"

"I told you he might be on vacation, daddy," Kamran said, smiling impishly at her father. "You're the one who said he wasn't."

"You talked to him?"

"Yes, he called me yesterday."

"He put you up to this? He told you to lie to me? Damn it, G."

"He did **not** tell me to lie," Kamran said, her anger flaring quickly. "I didn't want to tell you because you've been so mean. He told me to tell you, that I shouldn't lie. He said I shouldn't even tell you a lie of a mission, whatever that means. He just didn't say when I could tell you. So, I'm telling you now, even though you are still being mean about him and he didn't even do anything wrong."

Sam looked away from his daughter and glanced at his wife, who was very obviously trying not to smile.

"It's not funny," he muttered under his breath as he turned back to Kamran. "Did he happen to tell you where he is?"

"Yes he did."

"Well?"

"Well, what, daddy?"

Sam narrowed his eyes at his daughter who was obviously playing him. "Where is he?"

"He's at a beach house."

Sam shook his head as he tried with every fiber of his being not to lose his temper. "Where is the beach house, Kamran?"

"Oh, he didn't tell me that."

"You see," Sam said to Michelle. "He knows exactly what he's doing. He…he's trying to drive me nuts. He's punishing me for what I said."

"Sam, you're being ridiculous," Michelle turned to Kamran. "Sweetheart, go get washed up for dinner, okay?"

Kamran nodded and headed to the bathroom.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Sam asked after Kamran had left. "Trying to turn my daughter against me like this?"

"Oh my God, Sam, you can't be serious." Michelle gave her husband an incredulous look. "He called our daughter, Sam. It was a nice thing for him to do. They have a bond. He obviously felt bad about what happened and wanted to reassure her. I'm sure he understood that she would be upset. You need to stop blaming him for this. None of it is his fault. It all stems from the fact that he was trying to do a good thing for you…for your family. He had nothing but the best of intentions from the day he offered to watch Kamran for us."

"He's your best friend, Sam and has always treated you as one. You might want to start treating him the same way in return..."


	9. Chapter 9

_As always, thanks so much for your comments and I appreciate those who are continuing to read this story_ :)

xxxxx

Tuesday and Wednesday passed slowly for the separated partners. For Callen's part, he was discovering that rest and relaxation might be good for a few days but it was now Thursday, day six, and he'd had enough of it. He didn't want to go home yet though as he was pretty sure Sam would show up and he didn't feel ready to deal with his partner. As for the beach house, it was a really nice place. He could imagine Kensi and Deeks having a wonderful vacation here, swimming, surfing and just laughing and having fun together. He could also imagine Sam's family here, Kamran running along the beach and playing, just having a great time. If he was a writer or an artist, it would probably be a great locale as well, but truthfully, he was getting more than a little bored. He was sick of reading and watching t.v. He had started and finished a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. He had swum a fair amount, walked and ran and gotten more sleep on a daily basis than he had probably gotten in years. He had even gone to a flea market where he had found what he thought was a pretty bracelet which he had bought for Kamran. But this peaceful lifestyle just wasn't his cup of tea. He was determined to stick it out though. He had three more days and he would head home on Sunday morning. Then, on Monday, he would face off with his partner and see where the two of them stood.

xxxxx

Finally, early on Thursday morning, Sam caught Eric alone at the bottom of the staircase. He was pretty sure Hetty had been keeping the wonder twins away from him, but even Hetty wasn't perfect. "Hey Eric," Sam said, giving him a friendly smile. "What's up? I haven't had a chance to talk to you all week."

"Hey, Sam…" Eric gave the other man a clearly nervous smile. "I'm good, how are you? Sorry I can't chat but we're super busy." He made a move to hurry off but Sam blocked his path.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a favor before you take off."

"I…I really have to go."

"Just a small favor, Eric…I was just wondering if you could maybe track Callen's phone for me and let me know where he is? He's not answering and I have something important I need to talk to him about if he's not too far away."

"Uh…I really can't, Sam," Eric said nervously. "I…I…"

"Mr. Beale, Miss Jones needs you upstairs right away," Hetty said as she walked up to the two men. "I suggest you get up there pronto."

"Of course, right away, Hetty." Eric gave the operations manager a grateful smile and bolted up the stairs as fast as he could.

"Oh Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, shaking her head. "I must say, I am very disappointed in you."

"Really, Hetty? It's Thursday," Sam said. "G is going to be home in just a few more days. What difference does it make if I find out where he is a little early?"

"And I could say to you, what difference does it make for you to wait a few more days?" Hetty asked. "I would think you would be concerned enough about Mr. Callen to respect his wishes in this matter. That is, if you care for him as much as you say you do."

"Of course I care about him, Hetty," Sam said. "He's my best friend. I just miss him, that's all and I feel really bad about what's happened between us."

"I believe that you do," Hetty said, nodding. "But in his eyes, I do think that honoring his wishes would go further towards making amends then deliberately disregarding his request for privacy."

Sam thought about her words then slowly nodded. "Alright, Hetty, you win," he said, looking somewhat dejected. "I'll stop trying to find him. I'll just see him on Monday morning. Happy?"

"Nothing about this situation makes me happy, Sam," Hetty said. "I'm just trying to do what I think is best to hopefully dissolve this tension between the two of you and get things back to normal."

xxxxx

Kamran awoke a little bit later than usual on Thursday. Whereas teacher in-service days at school were usually fun days, Bridget already had plans to visit her cousins for the day and Kamran had no idea what she was going to do with herself. She tossed her covers aside and got out of bed, shivering slightly as she put on her slippers and robe. She then headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Kamran." Michelle smiled at her daughter as she came into the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"I can just have cereal," Kam said. "You don't have to cook anything."

"You know I don't mind, baby," Michelle said. "Do you want pancakes or maybe a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream?"

"Really?" Kamran asked. "Okay, I'll have that."

Michelle set to work making the Belgian waffle batter as Kamran watched with interest. "Maybe this would have been easier for Uncle Callen to make instead of pancakes," she said as Michelle poured the batter into the waffle maker.

Michelle smiled. "He really had a rough time?"

"Yes," said Kamran with a giggle. "But he tried really hard."

"I'm sure he did."

"I hope he's having a nice vacation even though he's lonely," Kamran said with a sad sigh.

"You think he's lonely?" Michelle asked her daughter.

Kamran nodded. "Yes…he thought that we were his family, but now…" she shrugged. "He might not think so anymore, after what daddy did."

"You do know that daddy didn't mean what he said," Michelle said, not wanting their daughter to carry a grudge against her father. "He's very sorry about what he said to your Uncle Callen."

"I know, but he's still at the beach house all alone. It must be lonesome for him. I would be lonely if I was there all alone, even if it is a nice place."

Michelle nodded thoughtfully. "Sweetie, why don't you go get your phone and give Uncle Callen a call. Ask if he'll speak to me."

"He told me he would probably have the volume down and that he wouldn't answer if I called," Kamran said.

"Well, let's just try anyway, okay? You never know until you try."

Kamran smiled at her mother with a nod then ran off to get her phone. She returned just a couple of minutes later. "I got it," she said, holding up her phone breathlessly.

"Well, when you catch your breath, you can call him," Michelle said, smiling.

"My breath is caught," Kamran said as she pressed the picture of Callen on her phone, then waited in anticipation to see if he would answer.

xxxxx

When he heard the phone ringing, Callen picked it up, expecting to see Sam's number. His partner called him several times daily. There were some times when Callen had almost been tempted to answer it, but he definitely didn't want to try to solve things over what was sure to be an awkward telephone call. When he saw Kamran's number, his first instinct told him that Sam had taken her phone, but would he really do that? Then again, Kamran would be at school. What if it was important? What if she was in some kind of trouble? He couldn't not answer it, just in case. "Hello?" he said as he clicked the phone on.

"Uncle Callen!" Kamran's exuberant voice came over on the other end of the phone. "I'm so happy to hear your voice!"

"It's good to hear your voice too," Callen said with a chuckle, more happy than he would have thought possible to be hearing from her. "How are you, Kamran? Is everything okay?"

"Yes everything is good. I have a day off from school today. Uh…my mom wants to talk to you. Will you talk to her?"

Callen hesitated. "Yeah, sure…I'll talk to your mom, Kam…"

"Hi Callen," Michelle's tentative voice spoke at the other end of the line. "How are you?"

"I…I'm good, Michelle. How are you?" he asked.

"Oh Callen, I'm alright…I just feel really bad about what happened. Sam never should have said what he said to you. I do know how sorry he is, if that helps at all."

He really didn't even know what to say to her. He did know that she didn't feel the same way her husband did. There was an awkward silence as he struggled to figure out what to say.

Sensing his awkwardness, Michelle decided to change the subject. "Anyway…Kam told us you were at a beach house. That sounds nice."

"Yes, it's a great place," he said, thankful that she had picked up on his reluctance to talk about Sam.

"How far is it from here?"

Callen immediately became apprehensive. Was she trying to figure out where he was to tell Sam? "It's about an hour and 45 minutes away, give or take," he finally said, a little reluctantly.

"That's not too bad…because I was thinking maybe Kam and I could come out for a visit…Unless you'd rather we didn't?"

"No…I just…" He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "What about Sam? I really don't want him to know where I am, Michelle, but I don't want you to have to keep things from him either…"

"Callen, please don't worry about it. I can handle Sam. I'm going to be perfectly honest to him about what Kamran and I will have done today but I won't tell him where you are. I can promise you that."

"Are you sure you want to take such a long drive?"

Michelle nodded. "I think it will be good for Kam to see you and I'd like to see you too."

Ignoring the Belgian waffle which she had barely touched, Kamran had been listening to the conversation and began twirling around the kitchen in excitement. "I'm going to go get dressed and get my bathing suit!" she informed her mother before fleeing the kitchen.

"Alright…if you're sure." He couldn't help feeling a little bit excited at the thought of seeing them. He felt pretty isolated at the beach house and did miss seeing and working with his team. Things weren't going well with his partner and the last time he had seen Kensi and Deeks was when they had brought pizza and medical stuff to help him care for Kamran. It would be nice to see some familiar faces. He gave Michelle the address and went in search of a new book to read to keep him occupied until the Hanna women arrived.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thanks as always to those of you who are reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it :)_

xxxxx

"How much longer?" Kamran asked as she fidgeted in the passenger seat next to her mother.

"Kam…didn't I tell you to stop asking me that every five minutes?" Michelle asked, trying hard not to lose her patience with her overly exuberant child. "I told you what time we should get there and you can see what time it is for yourself."

"I know, but I'm sooo excited to see Uncle Callen," Kamran said. "He's going to be happy to see us too."

"I'm sure he will be. I just want you to behave when we're there though and watch what you talk to him about, okay?"

"What do you mean? I wouldn't say anything bad to him," Kamran assured her mother.

"No, that's not what I mean. I know you wouldn't say anything bad, honey. Just, be careful what you say about your father and don't keep talking about him being lonely, things like that."

"Okay," Kamran said with a shrug. She picked up her tablet from her lap and started to play another game, hoping the time would go by fast and they would soon be at the beach house.

xxxxx

"Ooooh, it's beautiful, isn't it?" Kamran's eyes were shining as Michelle pulled the car up in front of the beach house.

"It's very nice," Michelle said, nodding in agreement, just glad that they had finally arrived. She loved her daughter dearly, but sometimes her nonstop chatter could be a little hard to take.

"Come on, hurry," Kamran urged as she got out of the car. She then squealed when she saw Callen coming out through the front door. "Uncle Callen!" She ran to him and threw her arms around him, giving him an enthusiastic hug. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Kam," Callen said, returning her hug and then hugging Michelle when she walked up to them. "Hey Michelle, how was the drive?"

"Not too bad," Michelle said with a smile as she looked up at him. "You're looking good, Callen." He appeared to be well rested and it was obvious the fresh air and sunshine were agreeing with him.

"Thanks. I didn't know if you two had lunch? I don't have a heck of a lot as far as food goes unless you want…well, basically junk," he said with a grin.

"Junk sounds good to me," Kamran said, smiling impishly up at him.

"Or we could go out somewhere to eat," Michelle said, shaking her head, unable to hold back a smile of her own.

"And I've got the perfect place to go," Callen said, ushering them towards his car. "It's owned by the woman who rented this house to me."

"A woman rented you this house?" Michelle asked, unable to hide her obvious interest. "Is she nice?"

Callen grinned as he started up his car. "She is…She's really terrific, Michelle. As a matter of fact, I've been going there and seeing her every day, most days, more than once."

"Oh really, well that sounds wonderful," Michelle said, inwardly thinking that perhaps Callen wasn't quite as lonely as her daughter thought he was on this little vacation of his. That explained why he hadn't bothered to get any food in the house.

"Here we are," Callen said, pulling in in front of the restaurant.

"I'm starving," Kamran said as she got out of the car. "Is the food good here?"

"Really good," Callen said, patting his stomach as he and Michelle followed Kamran towards the entrance. "I bet I've put on at least five pounds this week."

"Hi Millie," Callen greeted her as they walked inside.

"Good afternoon, Grisha," she called out to him as she put some food on a table. "You know the drill. Sit wherever you'd like."

"I usually sit over here," Callen said, guiding them over to his favorite spot in the corner. "What?" he asked Michelle with a grin as they sat down.

"You…you knew what I was thinking," she said, shaking her head at him with a mock glare, but she was unable to keep the smile from her face.

"Not my fault you jumped to conclusions," he said, laughing.

"Uncle Callen?" Kamran asked. "She called you Grisha…why did she call you that?"

"Oh," Michelle looked at her daughter and then at Callen. Sam had told her when Callen had discovered his name, but seeing as no one really seemed to use it, they hadn't thought it important to tell Kam or Aiden about it.

"Uh…that's my real first name," Callen said to her.

"It is?" Kamran asked, looking at him with interest. "Why haven't you ever told us that before? So, shouldn't you be Uncle Grisha and not Uncle Callen?"

"Your father and I knew about his name, Kam," Michelle said. "But…" She wasn't really sure why they didn't use it.

"Old habits die hard," Callen said to Michelle, a trace of a smile on his lips. "It would probably be just as weird for me as it would be for you guys if you started to call me Grisha."

"But it's your name," Kamran said, looking somewhat puzzled. "Shouldn't we call you by your real name?"

He shrugged. "You can if you'd like to…you can call me whatever you'd like, Kamran."

"Well…I am used to calling you Uncle Callen," she said thoughtfully, "but I don't know, Uncle Grisha is good too. I'm going to have to think about it."

"Okay, you do that," Callen said, smiling at her.

"So who do we have here?" Millie asked as she approached the table. She'd been watching Grisha since he entered the restaurant and it was very obvious that this woman and her daughter were very important to him. He also appeared happier and more relaxed than she had seen him since he had arrived the previous Saturday.

"Millie, this is my partner's wife, Michelle and her daughter Kamran."

"Nice to meet the two of you," Millie said. "Any friend of Grisha's is a friend of mine. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have a Coke, please," Kamran said.

"Do you have iced tea?" Michelle asked.

"We do."

"Iced tea then, thank you."

"I'm good with water, thanks," Callen said.

"Coming right up. Specials are over there on the blackboard."

"So, what's good here?" Michelle asked as she scanned the menu.

"Pretty much everything," Callen replied. "I haven't had anything here that I haven't liked."

"Millie seems fond of you." Michelle could understand it. Callen had that lost little boy quality which women of all ages seemed to adore.

"She's really great. I'm fond of her too. She…she's been good to talk to."

Michelle nodded, her eyes serious. "I'm glad you found someone to talk to…I'd like to talk to you too, when we get back to the house, if that's okay."

Callen nodded. "Of course, Michelle…whatever you want."

xxxxx

"Sam, we're going out to get some lunch. You want something?" Deeks asked the senior agent. At least Sam seemed somewhat calmer today. He, for one, would be glad when the week was over and Sam's partner was back in the fold. Sam sure was a grouch when things weren't right between him and Callen.

"Where are you going?"

"Betty's?"

"You want to get me a Cobb salad?" Sam asked.

Deeks nodded. "We won't be long."

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere." It had been a slow day. For that matter, it had been a slow week. They'd mostly been stuck in the office, which had only served to give Sam more time to dwell on what he had done to Callen. Whenever he thought about it, it made him feel sick to his stomach. He just wanted to talk to G so that he could make amends and hopefully get his partner to forgive him. He wondered what his wife and daughter were doing on Kam's day off from school. He picked up his cell phone and pressed his wife's call button.

xxxxx

"I'm going to take this outside," Michelle said softly when her phone began buzzing.

Callen nodded as Michelle quickly got up and walked out to the front of the restaurant. "Hi Sam," she said as she clicked on her cell phone.

"Hi baby." As always, hearing his wife's voice put a smile on Sam's face. "I just called to check on you and baby girl. Are you having a good day?"

"We are…How's your day going?"

Sam looked around the currently abandoned bullpen. "Slow…kind of boring. I'm glad tomorrow's Friday."

"I know it's been a long week for you, but we'll have a nice weekend and then things will get back to normal for you next week."

"I hope so… Anyway, what are you and Kam up to today?"

"It was such a beautiful day, we decided to take a little day trip along the coast." Michelle closed her eyes, silently hoping her husband wasn't in an overly curious mood.

"Oh yeah? Well that sounds nice…" He hesitated and then went on. "So, you're on the coast, you say?"

Michelle sighed softly, knowing he had already figured it out. "Yes, Sam."

Sam took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "How is he?"

"He seems good, Sam, rested…"

He didn't know what to say. Asking her to tell his partner he was sorry was lame. He needed to say a lot more than that to him. "What time do you think you'll be home?" he asked, unbending a stray paperclip on his desk.

"I'm not sure exactly. Maybe between 7 and 8? I can grab us something to eat somewhere. We'll have a late dinner together."

"Okay. Tell him…tell him I'm looking forward to seeing him on Monday."

"I'll tell him, baby. I love you."

"Love you too… I'll see you tonight."

Michelle walked back into the restaurant. Kamran was engaged in eating a banana split, but Callen met her eyes and gave her a knowing look.

"Sam?" he asked her, his eyes suddenly sad.

She nodded. "He said he's looking forward to seeing you Monday…he really misses you."

"Yeah…I miss him too," Callen said, swallowing against the sudden lump he felt in his throat. He just really hoped they'd be able to sort things out and get their partnership back on track.

xxxxx

After their lunch, the three of them headed back to the beach house. Callen gave Michelle and Kamran a brief tour and then guided them out to the balcony.

"Oh Callen, this is beautiful," Michelle said as she looked out towards the ocean. "I can see why you like this place so much."

"Yeah, I do like it," he agreed with a nod, "It's maybe just a little too quiet at times though. "It would be a great place for you, Sam and the kids to come to. Super reasonable too."

"Mom? Can I go swimming?" Kamran asked. She was leaning against the balcony, gazing out towards the water yearningly.

Michelle looked out at the ocean where the waves were pounding along the sand. "I don't know… those waves look pretty big, Kam," she said nervously.

"I'll go with her," Callen said. "You can just hang out here and relax."

"I'd like to talk to you first," she said, giving him a meaningful look. "Kam, why don't you go inside and change into your bathing suit."

Recognizing her mom wanted to talk to her Uncle Callen alone, Kamran obediently nodded and went into the house.

"So…" Callen said, looking down at the floor of the balcony and then finally meeting Michelle's eyes.

"Oh Callen…I know it probably doesn't help you to hear this from me, but, he's so sorry. I mean, he's totally broken up about this."

Callen sighed and stared out at the water, not really sure of what to say.

Michelle came up beside him and rested her hand on his lower back. "This is not an excuse, because I don't believe he should be excused for what he did, but…the morning we came home, he hadn't slept, he had a really bad headache and he was just a bear. Like I said, I know it doesn't excuse him, but maybe it helps to explain, just a little bit, why he was in such a miserable state of mind and ended up taking it out on you."

He nodded, still not saying anything.

"Anyway…I want you to know how grateful we are for what you did for our daughter when she was sick. I know it was not an easy week for you. You took such good care of her and made sure she was as happy and secure as she possibly could have been under the circumstances. She loves you a lot…we all do…"

"It wasn't that difficult a week," he said. "You know how I feel about Kamran, Michelle. It certainly wasn't a hardship to take care of her."

"Even so…"

"No." He turned and looked at Michelle, meeting her eyes. "For a really long time, I've thought of you guys as family. You took care of me when I was recovering from being shot…and after the Spiral virus. If anything I **owed** you."

"Family members don't owe each other, Callen," Michelle said gently. "Family just does what they need to do for each other, because they love them. It's part of what makes a family."

Callen shook his head sadly. "But I'm not your family, Michelle…not really…"

"Don't," Michelle said fervently. "Don't let a few foolish words by my husband make you feel like this, Callen, words I know he did not mean. Please don't. And when he talks to you next week, please don't put up walls. Please let him in and at least let him try to make this up to you. I know for a fact that this partnership he has with you…this friendship… is one of the most important things in his life. Families are more than who we are born to. They are also made up of people we meet along the course of our lives and those are often the most important, as they are of our choosing, not by chance."

"Can we go now?" Kamran asked as she came running out onto the balcony.

"Yes," Callen turned away from Michelle and smiled at Kamran. "Let me go changed really quick and we'll head down there." He then hurried into the house leaving Michelle to wonder if her words had had any impact at all on him.

xxxxx

Michelle watched, smiling to herself as Kamran frolicked in the water with Callen. She could see he was always diligent, watching the waves. Whenever one was coming in that appeared as if it might be too big for Kamran to handle, he held onto her tightly. She totally trusted her daughter in his care and she knew Sam did too. Her husband just needed to convince Callen of that.

xxxxx

The remainder of the afternoon flew by quickly. Finally, at 5:30, Michelle deemed it was time to go. "Come on, Kam. We need to get home before it gets too late. Tomorrow's a school day."

"Aww…Do we have to go now?" Kamran pleaded. "Can't we stay just a little bit longer? Pleeease."

"Kam, your mom was nice enough to drive you all the way out here to see me," Callen said. "You probably shouldn't repay her by giving her a hard time."

Kam sighed heavily but nodded. "I'm sorry, mom," she said.

"It's okay, baby."

Callen walked them outside to their car. He couldn't help but feel a little bit bereft at the thought of them leaving. He knew he was being silly though. It wasn't like he wouldn't see them again. "Oh, I forgot, I have something for you, Kamran," he said, when they reached the car. "I'll be right back."

He ran into the house and came back a couple minutes later and handed Kamran a small gift box. "Oh thank you," she said, taking it from him. "What is it?"

"Well, it might be just me," Callen said with a smile, "but I think you can open it and find out."

Kamran grinned up at him and turned her attention to the box, opening it carefully. "Ooooh, it's so pretty," she said, taking out the delicate silver bracelet with various kinds of blue beads and a silver heart that said niece on it. "I love it. Thank you so much." She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I love you, Uncle Callen."

"I love you too, Kam," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you really soon, okay?"

She nodded and gave him an emotional smile. "Thank you again for the bracelet. I'll wear it every day and think of you."

"Kam, sweetie. You're going to see him again, I promise," Michelle said. The whole scene was making her feel all emotional as well. She almost felt like some kind of a villain, leaving Callen here by himself, which was ridiculous because it had been his choice to come here. "Come on. We have to go."

Kamran gave Callen one more hug and then Michelle hugged him as well. "Please think about what I said," she whispered to him.

He nodded, his blue eyes serious. "I will… Drive carefully."

With that, Michelle and Kamran got into the car and headed off as Callen waved and then watched them until they were out of sight.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks for reading and commenting. As always, I appreciate the support. Hope you all have a great weekend :)_

xxxxx

"So, it's okay to tell daddy where we've been?" Kamran asked as she and Michelle got out of the car and headed towards the house, carrying bags of Italian food from Gennaro's, one of their favorite local restaurants.

"He already knows," Michelle said wearily. It had been a long day and she had already told her daughter that Sam knew they had been with Callen. Sometimes she wondered if she listened to a word she said.

"And he's not angry?"

"No, he's not angry." She was about to put her key into the lock of the front door when it suddenly opened from the inside.

"Hey, let me take those," Sam said, reaching for the bags that Michelle was carrying.

"Thanks, honey," Michelle said giving him a tired smile as she stepped inside and kicked off her shoes. "Oh it is good to be home."

"I'm starving. Can we eat now?" Kamran asked, giving her mother a hopeful look.

Michelle nodded. "Yes, it's almost 8 o'clock already. We'd better eat soon or you'll be eating chicken parmigiana for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"You're silly," Kamran said, laughing.

"Go and wash up, okay?" Michelle said as she followed Sam to the dining room table where he was already quietly unpacking the food.

"Sam?" Michelle asked, studying him with her eyes. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you angry?" He hadn't seemed like it earlier, but now she wondered if he was.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I just wish I could have been there. This thing is just eating at me and I want to try to fix it. I don't want it to keep getting worse."

"I don't think it's going to get worse," Michelle said. "He's just sad and emotional, I think. I'm hoping once you talk to him, he'll come around."

"You really think so?" Sam asked, looking at his wife hopefully.

"Yes," Michelle said with a nod. "I really do think so. He may be hurt by what you said, but inside, he still feels like a part of our family and that isn't something that's going to just go away."

Sam waited for his wife to sit at the table and then he sat down as well. A few moments later, Kamran came running into the dining room and gave Sam a hug. "Hi daddy," she said before sitting down.

"Hey, baby girl, did you have a good day?"

Kamran looked at Michelle.

"I told you it was okay, Kam," Michelle said.

"What's okay?" Sam asked.

"She thinks you're angry because we spent the afternoon with Callen," Michelle said. She would be glad when this situation hopefully was resolved very soon. It just went to show how a few careless words could really turn lives upside down.

"I'm not angry, Kam," Sam reassured her. "In fact, I'm glad you went. At least now I know your Uncle Callen is doing okay."

"Want to see what he gave me?" Kamran asked.

"Sure." He watched as she held out her wrist to him. "That's a beautiful bracelet. It was very nice of G to give it to you."

"It says niece," she informed him unnecessarily as he had read the inscription on the heart himself.

Sam nodded. "I can see that. It's very nice."

"He got that because he knows we're his family," Kamran said, looking up at him seriously. "Even though he might be sad and he won't say it, he still knows that it's true."

Michelle and Sam exchanged a long look and Sam nodded. "That's right, baby girl," he said softly. "And trust me, I'm going to make sure he knows that he's very much a part of our family."

Kamran smiled happily at her father as she twirled some spaghetti onto her fork. "Thank you, daddy," she said. "I knew I could count on you."

xxxxx

On Friday, Callen found himself to be even more bored than previous days. He took a long walk, ate lunch at the café and then drove around for a while before returning to the beach house. It seemed that the visit from Michelle and Kamran had only served to make him miss the people in his life even more. He was munching on cookies, which he had bought earlier in the day from a placed called _SuperBaked_. He couldn't decide which he liked better, the Peanut Butter Stuffed, which had dark and white chocolate chips or the Frosted Nubs which were chocolate cookies encased in a shell of natural cane sugar. These cookies were great. Kensi would go nuts for them. He would have to return there before heading home. He'd bring them in to his team on Monday. After he finished eating the cookies, he sighed softly to himself and picked up his cell phone. After inwardly debating for a few minutes, he finally rang Hetty's phone.

"Why Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she picked up her cell phone, exceedingly pleased that he had finally decided to call. "I had wondered if you'd forgotten all about us."

"Hi Hetty," he said, smiling to himself. "How could I ever forget you?"

"Hmm…" she said. "So how are you? I trust you haven't traveled too far away?"

"No, I haven't. In fact, Michelle and Kamran even came to see me yesterday."

"Really?" she asked. That was a surprise, but a welcome one. It was good to hear he wasn't in total isolation, wherever he was. She looked over at the bullpen where Sam was concentrating on his laptop. Kensi and Deeks were at the boat shed interrogating a suspect. "Did you have a nice visit with them?"

"I did," he replied.

"Well, I'm very glad to hear that," she said.

"How's the team?" he asked, "any intriguing cases this week?" He was now anxious to get back to work. He'd had enough relaxation to last him for quite some time.

"Actually, no. It has been a rather slow week. In retrospect, it appears you actually chose a good week as far as taking a vacation was concerned."

"That's good," Callen said. "So, you really didn't even have a chance to miss me."

"Oh you're wrong about that, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, revealing her emotions in a rare, unguarded moment. "You are always missed when you're not here, as far as I'm concerned…and I'd say a certain member of your team has missed you quite a bit as well, this week."

"I miss you too, Hetty," Callen said softly. He had to admit, it felt good to know she missed him. "But Monday will be here before you know it…"

"So that is still your plan?" she asked, glad to hear he was coming back. She'd had quite a few 'worrying sessions' that week, wondering where he was and what his plans were, even speculating if there was a chance he wouldn't return at all.

"Of course, Hetty. I told you I'd be back Monday. Why? Were you afraid I wouldn't be?" he asked teasingly.

"One never knows what's in that head of yours, Mr. Callen," she replied. "I am happy to hear you'll be back. Has this journey of yours solved what was bothering you?"

"I don't know about that," he said, staring out at the ocean from his chair on the balcony, "but I do think I'm in a better head space to hopefully deal with the situation now."

She nodded. "Sometimes that is what is needed, to clear one's mind of all distractions and clutter and look at a thing from a new perspective."

"I don't know how clear my mind really is," he admitted, "but sometimes, just getting a little bit of distance can help."

"Whatever solves your problem is fine in my book," Hetty said. "I and your team have missed you very much and will be very glad to have you back."

"Thank you, Hetty," he said, smiling again at her words. "You have a good weekend and I'll see you on Monday morning."

"Bright and early, Mr. Callen," she instructed him. "Don't be late."

"I won't be," he laughed as he clicked off the phone.

xxxxx

On Saturday, he headed to the cafe bright and early. He planned to spend run some errands, spend some time at the beach, do his laundry and make sure the house was in pristine condition before he left the following morning.

"Good morning, Grisha," Millie greeted him as he sat at his customary table and she poured him a cup of coffee. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, Millie, really good. How are you?"

"Busy, but I'm not about to complain about that. The day we open up and have no customers, that's the day I worry about."

"Somehow, I don't think you need to be worrying about that," he said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll have customers here just as long as you want them."

"Do you know what you're having yet?"

"I think I'll have the buttermilk pancakes with a side of crispy bacon."

She nodded as she scribbled his order on the pad. "Shouldn't be too long," she said as she brought his order to the window and then hurried off to another table. He sat back and looked around thinking that he would miss this place and he would definitely miss Millie. He'd likely come back here for a long weekend at some point, but no longer than that, unless he was involved in a relationship, then maybe he'd feel differently.

He quietly ate his breakfast alone as Millie was much too busy to really be able to talk with him. He then left a generous tip and headed out. The day went by quickly. After having such a big breakfast, he had no appetite for lunch and just ended up running errands. He went back to _SuperBaked_ and bought cookies for the team and then returned to the flea market. He was just aimlessly walking around when suddenly he spotted a doll that he knew he had to buy for Kam's collection. The doll was beautifully crafted and lifelike and it reminded him very much of Sam and Michelle's daughter. It was a bit expensive, but he didn't care. He knew that Michelle would say he was spoiling her again, but he had to do it, just this once. He knew Kam was upset with this whole situation between him and Sam. This would help make her feel better and in turn make him feel better as well.

He went back to the beach house and swam for a while, then went inside and did his laundry. It was now after 5 and he should have been ready for dinner, but he just wasn't hungry. In fact, he actually felt a little bit nauseous. He was developing a headache and felt achy all over which he related to spending too much time in the sun and muscle aches from swimming. He sat out on the balcony, taking in the vivid mix of colors in the sky as the sun set over the water. Finally, at around 8:00, he forced himself to get up and go in where he basically collapsed on the bed. He pulled the covers tightly around him and fell asleep, hoping that he would feel better in the morning.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thanks, as always, for reading and supporting this story. It's very much appreciated :)_

xxxxx

When Callen awoke at a little after nine the next morning, he couldn't seem to stop shivering. He felt like he had the worst flu imaginable. His body ached all over, his head was pounding relentlessly and he felt exhausted, in spite of all the hours of sleep he had gotten. He was pretty sure he was supposed to do something or go somewhere, but his mind was fuzzy and instead of pursuing whatever that thought was, he burrowed under the covers, as deeply as he could, and fell back asleep.

xxxxx

Every time the front door to the café opened, Millie found herself glancing over to see if it was Grisha. She had been pretty sure he said he was going to leave that morning, but maybe she was wrong on that, or perhaps he had just changed his mind and was staying until later in the day. Maybe he would be there that afternoon. She couldn't imagine he would leave without saying goodbye.

xxxxx

Callen awoke again around noon. He managed to struggle out of bed and make it to the bathroom. Then, feeling unbearably thirsty, he made it to the kitchen where he grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator. He brought the water bottles back into the bedroom where he weakly fumbled with and finally succeeded in getting the cap off one of the bottles. He then gulped down some water and once again fell asleep.

xxxxx

At 4 p.m., Millie locked up the diner for the day. Curious whether or not Grisha was still at the beach house, she got into her car and undertook the short drive. When she arrived, she saw his car parked out front. She wondered if he had decided to extend his stay, but wouldn't he have discussed it with her? How would he have even known whether or not the house was already rented? She got out of her car and went and knocked on the front door. No answer. She knocked again louder and when he still didn't come to the door, she walked around to the other side of the house to see if he was out on the beach. However, she didn't spot him anywhere. She suddenly had an uneasy feeling as she looked out at the waves which seemed higher and rougher than usual to her. Had he gone for a swim and had something unfortunate happened to him? Over the years, her children had often teased her, saying she had an overactive imagination, but as she stared out at the water, she had a very real sense that something was wrong.

Millie went back to the front of the house and knocked loudly one more time. She wasn't one to disrespect the privacy of her guests but she really didn't see that she had a choice. When there was no answer once again, she pulled out the key to the house and inserted it into the lock, then opened the door and poked her head inside. "Grisha?" Millie called out. "Are you here?" Her heart beating quickly, she walked through the house, hesitating when she reached the closed door to the bedroom. "Grisha?" she called out again as she knocked. "Are you in there?"

When there was no answer, Millie took a deep breath then opened the door where she saw her houseguest huddled under what was definitely too many blankets for the warmth of the day. The room itself was hot and stuffy with the door to the balcony tightly shut. "Grisha?" she said softly as she approached him. "Grisha? Are you okay?"

Callen moaned softly when he heard Millie's voice, but he was too wiped out to really respond to her. For her part, Millie was relieved to hear him make some kind of a sound. She had been starting to believe that he might be dead. When she reached his bedside, she saw at once that he was unwell. His cheeks were flushed with fever and when she felt his forehead, he was very warm. Her first thought was chickenpox, but she didn't see any spots on him. "Grisha? I'd just like to check you out for a moment, alright?"

She pulled away the blankets and comforter that were covering him and Callen immediately reacted to that. "Cold," he mumbled.

"I know you're cold, Grisha. I'll give the blankets right back to you," she murmured comfortingly. "I just need to see if I can figure out what's wrong with you." She reached for the bottom of his t-shirt and raised it up, immediately getting to the source of the trouble when she saw the telltale spots covering his abdomen and chest. "Oh dear..." she said, giving him a sympathetic look. "Guess you're not going home any time soon, after all."

xxxxx

On Monday morning, Sam was whistling as he approached the table where Michelle and Kamran were already eating their breakfast. "Someone's in a good mood," Michelle said, smiling at her husband.

"Daddy's happy because he gets to see Uncle Callen today," Kamran said with a knowing grin. "Don't forget, you need to be very, very nice to him."

"Don't worry, baby girl, I'm going to be just as nice as I can be."

"Good," Kamran said with a self-satisfied smile as she took her last spoonful of oatmeal. She then got up from her chair and went over to Sam, put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Tell Uncle Callen I said hi."

"I will, you have a good day at school."

"Bye, mom," Kamran said as she went over to Michelle and kissed her goodbye as well.

"Bye, sweetie," Michelle said. "I'll see you after school."

Kamran flew out of the room like a whirlwind, slamming the front door behind her a few moments later. "I don't know how many times I've told that child not to slam the door," Michelle said, shaking her head, a smile on her lips.

Sam just chuckled as he quickly ate his breakfast. He wanted to get into work early, hopeful that his partner was going to do the same. Michelle watched her husband in amusement. "I swear, Sam…you're attacking that breakfast like you're afraid it's trying to escape from you."

"Guess I'm just anxious to see G," Sam said. "I just hope things go alright between us."

"Just be honest with him, Sam," Michelle said. "You know how important he is to you. If you express that openly to him, I'm pretty sure he'll respond well."

Sam nodded. "I hope you're right, baby." He got up from the table, too anxious to eat any more. "I'll talk to you later. You have a good day," he said as he kissed his wife.

"You too, honey. Let me know how it goes."

"I will." With a smile and a wave, Sam headed out of the room as Michelle watched. She really hoped all would go well between the two partners.

xxxxx

Every time someone walked by the bullpen area and it wasn't Callen, Sam's nerves got more and more on edge. He swore he could feel his blood pressure rising.

"Good morning, Sam," Deeks and Kensi said in unison as they came in and sat at their desks a little before nine.

"Good morning," Sam said, but he didn't particularly look like he meant it.

Kensi looked at Deeks who just shrugged in confusion. Deeks was about to ask about Callen but Sam's stormy appearance convinced him that would be a bad idea. The time ticked by slowly until it was 9:45 and still no sign of him.

"Where the hell is he?" Sam asked, slamming his hand down on his desk.

"Have you called him?" Deeks asked.

"Of course I've called him," Sam stated. "At least a dozen times. He's not picking up."

"You wouldn't think he would be late his first day back after being out for two weeks," Kensi said musingly.

"No you wouldn't," Sam agreed. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

"Maybe…" Deeks tried to think of something, but his mind was actually blank.

"Maybe what, Deeks?" asked Sam.

Deeks shook his head helplessly. "I don't know…"

At that moment, Hetty entered the bullpen.

"Hetty, please tell me you know where G is," Sam said, looking at her pleadingly. "Have you heard from him?"

"You mean he's not here?" Hetty asked, immediately looking concerned.

"No, and he's not answering his phone."

"Let me try," Hetty said, not saying what she was thinking, that perhaps Callen just wasn't answering Sam's calls. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed twice, but he didn't answer her either.

"Please let us see if Eric and Nell can track him down?" Sam pleaded, his mind full of gruesome images of Callen lying alongside a road somewhere or in a ditch.

Hetty sighed and nodded. "I'll get them right on it."

xxxxx

As Callen's phone was on, Eric and Nell were able to track its location very quickly. "I sent the address to your phones," Nell said.

"I'm going now," Sam told Hetty, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Mr. Hanna, take Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye with you," Hetty directed. "And report back to me immediately once you've found him."

Sam nodded and the three agents headed out.

xxxxx

No one spoke as Sam drove as fast as he dared, along the coast.

"I'm sure everything will be okay, Sam," Kensi said from the back seat.

"Really, Kensi? And how do you know that? You have a crystal ball I don't know about?"

"She's just trying to help, Sam," Deeks said. "You need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what I need to do," Sam said, shaking his head. "If anything has happened to him, it's my fault, Deeks. **_My fault_**."

"It's not your fault," Deeks said.

"No? Well the day you and Kensi have a fight and she leaves because of something you said and then you can't contact her, you tell me how you fell when that happens and maybe I'll believe you, but for now, let me feel how I feel."

Deeks sighed and the silence filled the car once again. He really hoped they found Callen safe and sound.

xxxxx

Millie was running herself ragged. She had been taking longer and more frequent breaks than usual that morning and luckily her staff was good about covering for her. It had been a long night. Grisha's fever had been 103 when she first found him, but ibuprofen had brought it down to 100. He was still very lethargic though and most of the time he just slept. She supposed it was the best thing for him, but she still found it disconcerting to see the effect the chickenpox was having on him. She didn't like leaving him alone, but she really had no choice in the matter, so she just continued running back and forth from the café to the beach house.

xxxxx

"His car's here," Deeks said unnecessarily as they pulled up in front of the beach house.

Sam's heart was pounding ferociously as he made his way to the front of the beach house, followed by Kensi and Deeks. "G?" he called out as he pounded loudly on the front door. "G? Can you hear me?"

"It's locked," Kensi said as she squatted down and quickly picked the lock.

Sam turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. "G?" he called out again as they entered the home. "G, you in here?"

Sam quickly walked towards what he assumed was the bedroom and knocked on the door. "G? It's me, Sam. Can I come in?" When there was no answer, he took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself and opened the door to find his partner bundled up under a pile of covers. Sam swiftly made his way to Callen's bedside and put his hand on his partner's forehead. "Hey buddy, can you hear me?" he asked him softly.

"Sam?" Kensi called softly from the doorway. "Is he okay?"

Sam shook his head. "He feels pretty warm. I don't know what's …" He suddenly realized what was very likely wrong with his partner as he pulled the blankets away from Callen, ignoring his murmured protest. "Shh…it's okay, G…" He lifted up his t-shirt and found what he had suspected to be the problem. "Chickenpox," he informed Deeks and Kensi.


	13. Chapter 13

_Kind of short, but I wanted to get something out. Thanks, as always, for reading and commenting :)_

xxxxx

"Cold," Callen mumbled.

Sam covered his partner with a sheet, blanket and comforter, but put the other blankets aside. "Sorry, buddy," he said softly. "Being overheated isn't helping you. We want your temperature to go down, not up."

"What should we do, Sam?" Kensi asked, casting a look of concern over at Callen.

"Well, he's in no shape to go back to Los Angeles right now," Sam said. "I'm going to call Hetty and see if she can get a doctor out here to take a look at him."

"Can we do anything?" Deeks asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, you want to check out the bathroom and see if there's anything there that could help him? Calamine lotion, ibuprofen, Benadryl, anything like that? If not, can you two go out and pick up a few things?"

Deeks nodded. "You've got it, Sam."

"Thanks, Deeks," Sam said as he tossed him the keys to the Challenger.

"We won't be long."

After Deeks and Kensi left, Sam went into the bathroom and found a washcloth which he soaked in cold water and then folded it into a compress. He went back into the bedroom and placed it onto Callen's forehead. After that, he settled into the recliner, which wasn't far from Callen's bedside, and pulled out his cell phone.

"Have you found him, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked, answering the phone on the first ring.

"Yeah, he's here," Sam replied.

"Dare I ask?"

"Chickenpox," Sam stated, confirming Hetty's suspicions.

"I thought as much. How bad?"

"Well, he has them on his abdomen and chest. I really didn't check out the rest of him although he doesn't have them on his arms or face so far. He's feverish though and pretty out of it. I think he ought to have a doctor check him out."

"I think you're right. I'll work on getting someone out there. I take it you're planning on staying with him?"

"Of course," Sam said.

"Have Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye return home. They can take Mr. Callen's car and when he is able, he can return home with you."

"Okay, you'll let me know if you can arrange for a doctor to come?"

"Yes, I'll keep you apprised. Take good care of him, Mr. Hanna."

"I will."

Sam clicked off the phone and went to Callen's side when he moaned softly. "Hey G," he said softly. "Can you hear me?"

Callen restlessly moved about underneath the covers and moaned again. "Come on, G…Wake up," Sam said more insistently. Finally, Callen opened his eyes and looked up at Sam lethargically.

"Sam?" Callen asked, looking up in confusion at his partner. "Wh…what are you doing here?"

"You were supposed to be at work this morning," Sam said. "When you didn't show up, I got worried so the wonder twins tracked you down and here I am."

"Oh," Callen still seemed confused.

"Can I get you anything?" Sam asked. "How about some water? You really need to keep up with fluids. You don't want to get dehydrated."

"Alright," Callen said with a nod. "I'll have some water."

Sam opened up a bottle on the nightstand and handed it to Callen. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Callen thirstily drank down some of the water and then put it back on the nightstand. "I'm okay," he said, looking up at his partner. "You don't need to stay here. I'll be home in a couple days."

"Somehow, I think it will be a little bit longer than that," Sam stated.

Callen wanted to protest, but he was already having a hard time staying awake and his eyes started to close. They popped back open though when Kensi and Deeks entered the room. "Hey guys," he said. "I I didn't know you were here too."

"Hey Callen, how are you feeling?" Kensi asked.

"I'm alright," Callen replied.

"We got what you needed, Sam," Deeks said, handing him a plastic drugstore bag.

"Thanks. I talked to Hetty. She said you guys should take G's car and return to Los Angeles. I'm going to stay with him until he's better and can travel back."

"Uh, hello?" Callen said, breaking into the conversation. "Am I invisible or something? Don't I get a say in this? If Kensi and Deeks are taking my car back, I want to be in it too."

Kensi and Deeks exchanged a look. "That's probably not a good idea, Callen," Deeks said. "You're running a fever and you shouldn't be running around with chickenpox anyway. No offense, but you kind of look like crap."

Kensi nodded. "If you had to get out of the car for any reason, you could spread them around. You wouldn't want to do that, would you?"

"I won't have to get out of the car," Callen said irritably.

"Come on, G, you don't know that," Sam said gently. "Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

"You…you're just glad I caught this, aren't you," Callen said, glaring at his partner.

"You know that's not true. I feel awful that you're sick, G."

"Yeah, right." Exhausted and miserable, Callen could no longer keep his eyes open and he dropped off to sleep.

Sam silently beckoned Kensi and Deeks with his hand and they left Callen's bedroom and walked out into the living room. Sam looked around the room for a few moments and then spied what he was looking for. "His keys are on the coffee table," he said.

"I don't envy you, Sam," Deeks said. "It sounds like you're going to be in for a miserable few days."

"Not as miserable as he's going to be," Sam said with a sigh. "I don't even think he's itchy yet. By the way, have you two both had chickenpox?"

Kensi and Deeks both nodded. "I had them when I was four," Kensi said.

"I had them when I was seven or eight," stated Deeks.

"Okay, then I guess you're both good to be in G's car. I'd have you take mine, but I'm afraid he might take off and leave me here when he's feeling better," Sam said with a smirk.

"What are you going to do for food?" Deeks asked. "Maybe we should get you some stuff before we head back?"

Sam shook his head. "That's not necessary, Deeks. I'm sure there are places that deliver or I can run out quickly if I have to."

"Alright…I guess we'll get going then," Deeks said. "Hopefully, he'll feel better before too long and you guys can come home."

Sam nodded. "Hetty's going to try to get a doctor out here, just to take a look at him."

"That's a good idea," Kensi said.

"Alright, I'll talk to you soon," Sam said, walking with them to the front door.

"Take care, Sam," Deeks said, shaking hands with the older agent.

"Bye, Sam," Kensi said, giving him a hug. "Try to be patient with him if he gives you a hard time."

Sam chuckled. "Don't worry, Kens, I'm going to be as sweet as pie to him."

"Good luck with that," Deeks said with a grin.

"It's my kid he caught this from. I can take whatever he dishes out," Sam said as he opened the door. "Drive safe." He watched as they headed down the path to Callen's car, waved and then closed the door and went to check on his partner again.


	14. Chapter 14

_As always, thanks for reading and supporting this story :)_

xxxxx

After Sam had checked on Callen and found him to still be asleep, he decided he ought to call his wife. He went back into the living room and sat on the sofa then pressed his wife's speed dial button.

"Hi Sam, it's about time you called me," Michelle said from her end of the line. "Have you and that partner of yours finally mended your fences?"

Sam sighed. "No…not exactly. He actually never showed up at work this morning. I'm here at the beach house with him."

"He didn't show up?" The surprise in Michelle's voice was apparent and then realization dawned on her. "Oh no…don't tell me…"

"Yeah," Sam said. "Chickenpox."

"Oh Sam…is it bad?"

"Well, he's not covered from head to toe…at least not yet," Sam said. "But, he has a fever and he's pretty miserable."

"So, I'm guessing you're not going to be home tonight," Michelle stated.

"I'm not sure when I'll be home, baby," Sam said, running his hand over his face. "You know I've got to stay with him. He'd never admit he needs someone to take care of him, but he does."

"Of course he does," Michelle said. "You need to stay with him until you can get him home. When he's well enough to make the trip back, you can bring him here. Kam and I will nurse him back to health."

"Yeah, well, we'll have to see how it goes. I don't think he's very happy about me even being here at the moment."

Michelle sighed softly. "No, I wouldn't imagine that he is and I doubt his current condition is going to be helpful as far as that goes."

"No…you're right about that. Anyhow, I'd better get going. Give Kam a kiss from me."

"She's probably going to be upset about Callen," Michelle said.

"Yeah, I'm sure she will be," Sam said, knowing how sensitive his daughter could be and how attached she was to Callen. "I'd try to downplay it as much as you can."

Michelle nodded. "I'll try. You take care of yourself, honey. Let Callen know I'm thinking of him."

"I will…I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, Sam. I love you."

"I love you too."

xxxxx

Millie sat in her car, staring apprehensively at the Black Challenger which was now parked in front of the house, whereas Grisha's car was nowhere in sight. When she had left him earlier, he had certainly not been in any shape to drive. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't begin to puzzle out the reason for such a change. Finally, filled with anxiety, she got out of the car and headed up the walkway to the beach house. When she reached the entranceway, she put the key into the lock and slowly turned it then opened the door. "Grisha?" She called out as she stepped inside. "Grisha are you here?"

Sam was sitting in the recliner in the bedroom when he heard the woman's voice. Was that the doctor already? Hetty hadn't even called saying she had gotten one to come out there yet. Rolling his eyes, he got up and walked out into the living room, obviously startling the grandmotherly-appearing woman who stood there. This couldn't possibly be the doctor, could it? "Hi…" he said. "I'm Sam Hanna, a friend of G's…uh, a friend of Callen's…I'm sorry if I scared you… "

"You are Grisha's friend?" Millie asked tentatively.

"Yes," Sam quickly nodded. He was surprised that Callen was using that name, but then again, maybe he shouldn't have been. "I'm his partner…He didn't show up to work today so I came here."

"I see…" Millie walked into the kitchen and put a bag she was carrying onto the kitchen table. "I'm Millie. He rented this house from me. It's good you came…he could use a friend. How is he doing?"

"Not too great, I'm afraid," Sam said solemnly. "We're trying to get a doctor out here to take a look at him."

Millie nodded. "That would be good. I'm afraid I was unable to get him to a doctor myself and there aren't any around here who make house calls."

"Yeah well, our boss has a lot of connections so I'm pretty hopeful that she'll get someone out here."

"I felt bad having to leave him here alone," Millie said, looking somewhat distressed. "But I run a restaurant and I had to work. I've been running back and forth."

"That was good of you to do," Sam said. "I mean, you barely even know him. A lot of people wouldn't be so caring…"

"He's a good man and we connected rather quickly," Millie said with a fond smile. "When he came here…I just had the feeling he needed someone…Turned out I was right."

Sam couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, wondering what exactly Callen had told this woman. Then again, Callen wasn't exactly known for sharing the personal details of his life. He couldn't imagine he had told her much. "I'm glad you were there for him," he said.

Millie nodded as she measured him with her eyes. "I met your wife and daughter. You have a charming family, Sam."

"Oh…thank you." Sam was beginning to feel at a distinct disadvantage here. It seemed everyone had spoken with this woman except him.

"He told me about what happened," Millie said bluntly. "Not all the details exactly, just that the two of you had a disagreement about the decisions he had made when you were away."

Sam sighed. "I was very wrong about what I said to him…even though I still wish he had let us know about our daughter, I handled it badly and I said some things I never should have said."

"It's obvious that you and your family mean a lot to him. He wouldn't be so hurt if you didn't."

Sam nodded. "He means a lot to us too. He's my best friend…my brother…"

"Then I have a good feeling that you'll be able to get this sorted out."

"I hope so," Sam said, his eyes distant for a few moments before he came back into the present. "In any case, I'm going to be staying with him, until he's better, if I can. I'm guessing he only rented this place through yesterday? Is it still available? I'll take care of renting it, probably for the week, if you don't have other renters coming."

Millie shook her head. "I can't possibly take rent for him extending his stay, Sam. It's not like he'll be enjoying himself and I dare say you won't be enjoying yourself either."

"Still, you need to take something," Sam said persistently. "I know G will feel the same way."

"G…" Millie said musingly. "That's what you call him?"

"Yeah," Sam said with a smile. "It's kind of a long story, but…he only recently found out his name was Grisha. I've always called him G though and well…it just sort of stuck."

Millie nodded, wondering how he had gone all his life without knowing his true name. She didn't want to pry though so she kept her curiosity to herself. "Are you hungry, Sam?" she asked. "I brought Grisha some homemade chicken soup in case he felt up to eating, but there's plenty for both of you."

Sam shook his head. "No thank you, I'm good." At that moment, his cell phone buzzed. "Excuse me," he said to Millie as he clicked it on and put it up to his ear. "Hi, Hetty…any luck with finding a doctor?"

"As a matter of fact, I did have some luck, Mr. Hanna. He should be there soon. How is Mr. Callen?"

"Last time I checked in on him, he was asleep," Sam said.

"That's good," Hetty said. "Sleep is the best thing for him right now."

"He wasn't really happy about Kensi and Deeks going back to Los Angeles without him," Sam said. "He wanted to go back as well. He's also not really happy about me being here."

"Well, he's just going to have to deal with that," Hetty said. "Hopefully, you'll be able to make amends when he's feeling a bit better. In his current state, I'm not surprised if he's feeling less than cooperative. It's not a very pleasant illness to have."

"No, I realize that," Sam said. "I just hope I don't upset him too much by being here."

"Just do the best you can, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said. "And please let me know what the doctor says."

"I will, Hetty. I'll talk to you soon."

Sam clicked off the phone and turned his attention back to Millie.

"Kensi and Deeks?" she asked, giving him a questioning look.

"Friends of ours," Sam explained. "They were with me when I came looking for G. They took his car back to Los Angeles. He wasn't really happy about it."

"I suppose I wouldn't be happy if someone ran off with my car either," Millie said, seeing Grisha's point.

"Yeah well…" Sam shrugged. "What's done is done…Hetty, our boss, said the doctor will be here soon."

"That's good news," Millie said approvingly.

"Would you like to sit down?" Sam asked, feeling a little bit uncomfortable with Millie at this point.

"Thank you, I think I will. After the doctor leaves, I'll head home," she said with a smile. "I'd just like to find out how Grisha is doing before I do so."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Sam quickly went to the door. "Hello, I'm Dr. Chandler Irving," greeted a tall, dark –haired man who looked to be in his 40s.

"I'm Sam Hanna." Sam extended his hand to the doctor. "Thanks for agreeing to come out here."

"Hetty can be pretty persistent," Dr. Irving said with a laugh. "She brought up a favor I hadn't returned from probably 15 years ago."

"Sounds like Hetty," Sam said with a chuckle. He led the doctor into the living room. This is Millie. I'm going to just go tell him you're here. I'll be right back." He didn't want to just spring the doctor on Callen without giving him a heads up first. He then went back into the bedroom where Callen was still fast asleep. He hated to wake him, but it had to be done. "Hey, G?" he said, gently shaking his partner's shoulder. Callen moaned softly but his eyes remained closed. "G, come on…I'm sorry but you need to wake up."

"Go away, Sam," Callen mumbled.

Sam shook him a little bit more forcefully. "Come on, G. Wake up. The doctor's here."

Hearing those words, Callen's eyes opened. "Doctor? What doctor?" he asked, glaring at his partner.

"Hetty arranged for a doctor to take a look at you. We want to make sure you're okay."

"I don't want a doctor. Tell him to leave." Callen rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. "What's he going to tell me? That I have chickenpox?"

"G…I'm not telling him to leave. Come on."

Callen turned over and glared up at his partner. "Why are you even here, Sam?" he asked. "Is Hetty paying you overtime to take care of me? If she is, tell her she should save her money and you should go home."

"I'm sending the doctor in," Sam said as he turned and headed out of the bedroom. "I just wanted to let you know."

"Whatever," Callen muttered as he sat up in bed, knowing the doctor was coming in whether he wanted him to or not.

xxxxx

Sam and Millie sat in the living room as Sam finally ate some of the soup Millie had heated up for him. "This is really good," he said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Millie said, watching as he ate. There were still so many things she wanted to know, but she could almost see her deceased husband, laughing at her and calling her a busy body. It wasn't easy, but she decided to remain silent.

A short while later, Dr. Irving came out of the bedroom.

"How is he?" Sam asked.

"Hiis temperature is a bit higher than I would like. He's refusing to go to the hospital though."

"The hospital?" Sam asked with obvious concern. "He's that sick?"

"Well, I work in a small, private medical facility where he could have been kept comfortable and closely monitored. Hetty told me to err on the side of caution, so I thought admitting him wouldn't be a bad idea. He wanted no part of it though."

"Yeah, I could have told you that," Sam said with a sigh.

"Just keep him on the ibuprofen and make sure he drinks plenty of fluids. Calamine lotion or oatmeal baths will help with the itch. Also, watch out for any signs of a bad cough. This can sometimes turn into pneumonia."

As Sam listened to the doctor, he couldn't help thinking what a huge mess having Callen take care of his daughter had turned out to be.

"I've written a prescription for Acyclovir," the doctor continued, handing the paper to Sam. It may help lessen the severity or at least shorten the course of his illness. You should get it filled as soon as possible."

Sam nodded. "I'll do that right away."

Dr. Irving nodded. "I'll check in with you tomorrow to see how he's doing. Here's my card if you need to call for any reason."

"Thank you," Sam said as he walked with the doctor to the door.

"Try not to worry," Dr. Irving said with a smile. "It's a miserable thing to have, but he shouldn't suffer any lasting effects."

Sam walked back into the living room after the doctor left. "I'm going to go get this filled," he said to Millie. "Do you mind staying with him just until I get back?"

"Of course not," Millie said. "The closest pharmacy is a CVS about five minutes away."

"Okay, great. Can I get you anything?" Sam asked.

Millie shook her head. "No thank you, I'm fine."

"I won't be long," Sam said with a smile. "Thank you for looking after him."

"It's my pleasure," Millie said, watching as he left the house. She then went into the bedroom where she found Callen to be bleary-eyed, but still awake. "How are you feeling, Grisha?" she asked.

"I didn't know you were here, Millie," Callen said. "Did Sam leave?"

"He went to get your prescription filled," Millie said. "He's very concerned about you."

"Don't let him fool you," Callen said, shifting about as he tried to get comfortable. "I used to think that too, but it was all just a façade."

"I'm pretty sure the concern I saw in his eyes was real," Millie said with a gentle smile. "Can I get you anything? I brought you some soup from the restaurant. It's very good."

"No thank you, Millie," Callen said softly. "I'm really not very hungry."

Millie nodded. "Then how about some water? You don't want to get dehydrated. Then you really will end up in the hospital." She took the cap off the bottle on the nightstand and handed it to him.

"I'm definitely not going to the hospital," Callen said as he took a few small sips of the water. He then yawned as Millie took the bottle out of his hand.

"Try to sleep now, Grisha," Millie said softly as she soothingly stroked his head. "Get plenty of rest and you'll feel better before you know it."

"Thanks for everything you've done for me, Millie," Callen said, looking at her gratefully before he allowed his eyes to close. "I really…I really appreciate it…" With that, he was asleep. Millie tucked the covers around him a little bit more snugly and settled down on the recliner to keep watch over him until Sam returned.


	15. Chapter 15

_Thanks to those of you who are reading this and who have reviewed as well. It's very much appreciated :)_

xxxxx

"How is he?" Sam asked quietly from the doorway to the bedroom. He'd been gone a little over a half hour. While waiting for the prescription to be ready, Sam had gotten a few things he knew G liked to eat, mostly just snack type things including a bag of Tootsie pops. He was relatively sure that Millie would keep them covered in terms of "real food."

"He's asleep," Millie whispered back as she stood up and moved past Sam to exit from the bedroom. "I tried to get him to have some soup but he wanted no part of it. He did drink a bit of water, but I'd try to get him to drink more if you can. He's definitely not drinking enough."

Sam nodded. "I'll be sure to do that." He then walked with her to the front door and accompanied her outside to her car.

"And I'll stop by tomorrow with some food. Is there anything particular you would like? We have pretty much everything at the restaurant and I have to say, my cook is very good."

"Anything would be fine," Sam said. "And of course, I'll pay for anything you bring over."

"That's really unnecessary, Sam," Millie said. "The two of you are here through no fault of your own. What kind of a person would I be if I was to take advantage of that fact?"

"We'd have to pay for food wherever we were, Millie," Sam said with a smile. "I don't want to take advantage of your kindness either."

"We'll have to discuss this at another time," Millie said. "You take good care of him, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Millie." Sam closed Millie's car door and waved to her as she drove away. He then went back inside the beach house.

xxxxx

"Isn't daddy coming home for dinner?" Kamran asked when she saw only two place settings on the table. She then gave a knowing smile to her mother. "Did he and Uncle Callen make up? Did they go out for dinner together?"

"No, sweetie. They didn't go out for dinner, but…your daddy is with Uncle Callen," she said as she scooped a generous helping of spaghetti and meatballs onto Kamran's plate.

"They're working?"

"Kam, please sit down and eat your dinner."

"Where are they?" Kam asked, looking at her mother suspiciously.

"They're at the beach house together."

"Oh," Kam said as she took her customary seat. She reached for a hot roll from the center of the table and then spread some butter on it. "Did Uncle Callen decide to stay longer on vacation? Doesn't he want to go back to work? I think Hetty is going to be mad at him."

Michelle realized that she needed to just tell the truth. Trying to evade Kamran's questions wasn't getting her anywhere and she wasn't going to lie to her daughter.

"Sweetie, Uncle Callen has chickenpox. Your daddy is staying at the beach house to take care of him."

"What?!" Kamran's eyes immediately filled with tears as she got up from her seat. "He has chickenpox? He's sick? It's all my fault!"

"Kamran, no. It's not your fault," Michelle said, standing up as well. "It's just one of those things. I don't want you to blame yourself for this and you know Uncle Callen wouldn't want you to either."

"I want to talk to him," Kam demanded. "Can I call him?"

Michelle shook her head. "I don't think we should disturb them, Kam. I'm sure Uncle Callen will call you when he's feeling up to it."

"I talked to my friends the whole week I was sick," Kamran said. "I felt up to it the whole time."

Michelle sighed, at a loss as to what to do. "Let me call your dad." She went to the living room where her phone was and picked it up with Kam right on her heels. "Why don't you eat something," she said to her daughter.

"I want to know what daddy says," Kam said.

Michelle pressed the button with Sam's name on it and waited for her husband to pick up.

xxxxx

Sam had just come back into the house after walking Millie to her car when his phone rang. "Hey, babe," he said, seeing his wife's name over the caller ID. "What's up?"

"We were wondering how Callen is doing," Michelle replied. "Kam wanted to know if he's up to talking to her?"

"Let me talk to her," Sam said with a sigh, then waited for his wife to put their daughter on the phone.

"Daddy?"

"Hey, baby girl, how are you?" Sam said, smiling to himself, as always, happy to hear the sound of his daughter's voice.

"Mom said Uncle Callen has the chickenpox?" Kam questioned her father, not wanting to bother with small talk." I want to talk to him."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. He's sleeping now. I don't want to wake him."

Kamran sighed heavily. "I really do need to talk to him, daddy. I want to apologize for making him sick."

"It's not your fault, Kam," Sam said reassuringly. "He knows that."

"Yes it is my fault! He wouldn't have gotten sick if he hadn't taken care of me."

"It's still not your fault. These things happen, Kam. Do you blame whoever was sick at your school for giving the chickenpox to you?"

"Well…no, but…"

"Uncle Callen would be very sad to hear that you were blaming yourself, sweetheart. You know he would never blame you."

"Can't you wake him up just for a minute, daddy?" Kamran pleaded.

Sam sighed. He really did hate to refuse his daughter's request. He quietly went over to the bedroom door and peeked inside, but Callen was still sleeping soundly. In good conscience, he just couldn't wake him. "I'm sorry, baby girl," he said quietly as he closed the door. "I don't want to wake him up."

"Pleeease, daddy?"

"Kamran…Your Uncle Callen really isn't feeling so hot. Do you really want me to wake him up out of a sound sleep just so he can tell you what I already have?"

There was a long silence at the other end of the line before Sam heard his daughter, in a tiny voice, say "no."

"That's my girl," Sam said. "I'll make sure he calls you when he feels better. Now, can you put your mom back on the phone for me? I love you, sweetheart. Good night."

"Good night, daddy," Kam said. "I love you too. Here's mom."

"Kam, go eat your dinner before it gets cold," Michelle directed her daughter. "Hi, Sam."

"Hi there. What's for dinner?" Sam asked.

"Spaghetti and meatballs," Michelle answered.

"Oh man… With your homemade sauce?"

"Of course," Michelle said. "I was expecting you and possibly your sick partner to be at the table this evening. How is he, Sam?"

"He's not great. He's sleeping now. The doctor gave him some medicine which, hopefully, will lessen the effects or at least help so he's not sick for as long. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Speaking of which, I'd better try to get a dose of this into him."

"Alright, Sam. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I Love you, babe."

"I love you too."

xxxxx

Sam awoke with a start just as the sun was beginning to rise. He shifted in the recliner and looked towards the bed, expecting to see his sleeping partner. However, the bed was empty. He looked in the direction of the bathroom, but the door was open and the light was off. Quickly, he got out of the recliner and walked from the bedroom to the living room which was unoccupied. "G?" he called out, his heartbeat increasing. It took him mere seconds to search the rest of the house and realize that his partner was nowhere inside. Panicking now, Sam ran towards the front door and flung it open, noting first that the Challenger remained parked where he had left it. "The water," he murmured at the sudden terrifying realization. He fled out towards the beach where he saw Callen walking out into the water, which at that moment Sam found to appear rough and menacing. "G!" he screamed as he raced on the sand in his friend's direction. "G, Stop!"

Just about the time that Sam reached Callen, a large wave came at them. In his weakened state, Callen had neither the awareness nor the strength that he usually had in the water and the wave knocked him back into Sam who grabbed him. At that point, Callen freaked out and struggled to escape from his partner's grasp. "Let me go! What are you trying to do, drown me?" he screamed at Sam. "Help! Somebody help me!'

"What the hell are you doing out here, trying to kill yourself?" Sam yelled back, his nerves totally on edge from Callen's escapade as he held onto him tightly. "Come on, you're getting out of this water now!"

Callen continued to try to get away, but Sam was able to control him without too much difficulty. He was getting aggravated though. "Will you cut it out!" Sam yelled at his partner as he finally managed to get him out of the water. Callen stumbled, but Sam held onto him and didn't allow the smaller man to hit the ground. He then took a good look at his friend who had finally stopped struggling and was now looking exhausted and bewildered. As he studied Callen, it was very evident to Sam that he didn't have any clue what he was doing. He'd obviously been either walking in his sleep or helpless in the grip of his fever. Sam pulled his friend's shivering body into his arms and held him against his chest, cupping his hand around the back of Callen's head. "Damn it, G. You scared the hell out of me." Finally, Sam released him and with a heavy sigh, put his arm around Callen's shoulders and began guiding him back in the direction of the beach house.

When they got back inside, Sam sat his partner down on the chair in the bedroom and decided to draw a lukewarm bath for him. Deeks had wisely purchased some colloidal oatmeal at the drugstore which Sam added to the water as the tub was filling up. He then went back into the bedroom. "Hey buddy," he said softly. "Let's get you into the tub. It will make you feel better." At the moment, Callen was quietly cooperative and allowed Sam to help him undress and get into the tub. Once Callen was calmly soaking, Sam was able to assess just how badly the chickenpox were covering his body and found that his original assessment remained about the same with the addition of spots over his back.

"You don't look too bad, G," Sam quietly commented. "Hopefully, these damn things won't multiply and spread all over you." He really wished Callen would talk to him, but the other man remained silent and Sam didn't want to rile him up so he stayed quiet. He went back into the bedroom and took Callen's wet clothes and threw them into the washing machine. Sam then went out to the Challenger where he had a small go-bag in the trunk that contained some extra clothing. He then dressed and put his own wet clothes into the washing machine with Callen's, twisted the knob to a small load setting, and turned on the machine. After that, he walked into the bathroom to check on Callen who was leaning against the back of the tub. His eyes were closed and most of the dots were submerged in the water. Deciding to let him soak for a total of 20 minutes, Sam went back into the bedroom and got Callen a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from his duffel bag, knowing that light, loose clothing would be most comfortable for him. He was actually surprised to see he had them but perhaps his partner had gotten a few new casual things for his stay at the beach house.

After the 20 minutes were up, Sam went back into the bathroom. "G? Come on, buddy, let's get you out of here," Sam said as he gently patted Callen's shoulder. Callen opened his eyes and gazed up at Sam drowsily. "Do you need help?"

"I can do it," Callen said. His legs were a little bit wobbly as he stood up, but Sam steadied him and put a large towel around him. Callen dried himself off and went into the bedroom where he saw the clothes Sam had laid out for him on the bed. "Thanks." He was still upset with his partner, but he had to admit Sam wasn't making it easy to continue to be.

"Can I get you anything?" Sam asked quietly, after Callen was dressed and was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"No…" Callen shook his head then looked at Sam with a puzzled expression on his face. "Why was I out in the water?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, G. I woke up and you were gone. You were walking into the waves when I spotted you."

"Oh…" Callen hung his head. "Sorry about that," he said softly.

"You don't need to apologize. You obviously didn't know what you were doing."

"Still…thanks for going after me…"

"No thanks necessary, G…I'm just glad I got to you."

Callen nodded and Sam couldn't help but notice that he looked to be on the verge of falling asleep. "Why don't you get some rest? It's still really early."

"Yeah, okay, I think I will." Callen got under the covers and fell asleep almost immediately. Sam couldn't help but feel a bit more optimistic about where things stood between himself and G. The tension between them was definitely lessening. He just hoped it wasn't all because of G being sick though. Right now, his partner needed him, but once he was better, it would be a different story. All Sam wanted was for them to get their partnership and friendship back to where it had been before this whole babysitting fiasco had begun.


	16. Chapter 16

_As always, thanks for reading and reviewing_. :)

xxxxx

Sam sat on the recliner in Callen's room, quietly reading a book he had found and watching over his friend. He was going to have to make sure Callen didn't leave the house again. What had happened earlier was much too nerve wracking. He didn't want another similar episode. The sound of the front door opening and closing caused him to get up and go out into the main part of the beach house where he found Millie in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sam," Millie greeted him with a bright smile. "How are you doing on this fine day?"

"I'm good, Millie, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Sam, just fine," she said as she unloaded some takeout containers from a shopping bag. "I brought you some breakfast food from the restaurant. Grisha loves the pancakes there, but I also have eggs and other things. I wasn't sure if his throat could be bothering him. That sometimes happens with chickenpox. How is he doing today?"

Sam shook his head slowly. "Not so good, I'm afraid, Millie," he replied. "When I woke up early this morning, he was nowhere to be found. I found him out in the water and had to drag him back to shore."

"Oh my goodness," Millie gasped, giving Sam a shocked look. "That's not good, Sam. I didn't realize he was that sick."

"I know," Sam said with a nod. "This is a nasty thing that has hold of him. I'm just hoping the fever will start to drop soon and he'll improve. I'm going to call the doctor later though if he gets much worse. I don't want to take any chances."

Millie nodded. "I think that's wise, Sam. He's lucky to have such a good friend looking after him."

"Yeah, well…I'm not sure he thinks that," Sam said, "but I'm trying. He's like a member of my family, a brother. I don't want to see anything happen to him."

"I could see how close he is to your wife and daughter," Millie commented. "It was nice to see. He seemed so alone when he first got here."

"Yeah, well that was my fault," Sam said with evident guilt showing in his eyes. "I said things I shouldn't have said that day and things I definitely didn't mean. I just hope he forgives me soon. I hate that I've caused this rift between us."

"It's very obvious to me how sorry you are, Sam," Millie said with a gentle smile. "Grisha will see it too and I'm sure the two of you will be as close as ever very soon."

"I hope you're right," Sam said with a sad smile.

"I usually am," Millie said with a good natured laugh which caused Sam to laugh as well. She really was a charming woman. He could see why G had taken to her so easily. The motherly quality she had was something his friend had sorely lacked in his life. "But for now, I'd better get back. You might need to heat the food a little bit. I hope you can get Grisha to eat something."

"I'll definitely try, Millie," Sam said. "What do I owe you for the food?"

Millie just shook her head. "Is there anything particular you'd like for lunch? I have some idea what Grisha likes because he ate quite a few meals at the restaurant but I don't want to be bringing you food you don't care for."

"Anything's fine," Sam said.

"You must have some kind of preferences, Sam. Most people do."

Sam shrugged. He really didn't want to be making Millie go to any extra trouble. "Salads are good, maybe a turkey or tuna sandwich?"

Millie nodded with a smile. "I'd better get back. Enjoy your breakfast. I'll be back after the main lunch rush, probably around 1:30. Please feel free to call the restaurant if there's anything in particular you or Grisha would like me to bring for you."

"I will," Sam said as he walked Millie to the door. "Thanks so much. I really appreciate everything you're doing for me and G."

"It's truly my pleasure, Sam," Millie said. "I'll see you this afternoon."

xxxxx

"Mom? Mom, where are you? Where's my mom?" Callen cried out plaintively as he moved about restlessly under the covers.

"Shhh…G it's okay. Everything's alright, buddy," Sam said soothingly. He hated when this happened. It had happened before when G had been shot on Venice Beach. The first few days in the hospital he'd been feverish and rambling things about his mother. It had just about torn Sam's heart to pieces. Of course, many of the unanswered questions about his friend's past had been answered since those days, but even so, seeing him sick and vulnerable this way cut Sam to the quick. He hated the thought of Callen being caught up in the painful nightmares of his past.

"Please…please don't shoot her," Callen pleaded. "Don't kill my mom."

Sam couldn't bear watching him be so openly distressed. "Come on, G… come on, wake up." He gently shook his shoulder. Callen's t-shirt was drenched with perspiration. He wondered if he ought to have him soak in the tub again. He watched as Callen's eyes finally opened but they appeared glassy. Sam wasn't even sure if his friend knew where he was. "G? You with me?"

Callen stared dazedly at Sam for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah...yeah, I'm with you, Sam."

"Not doing so hot, are you, buddy?" Sam said, his eyes filled with sympathy.

"I have a really bad headache," Callen admitted.

Sam knew G wasn't doing well when he admitted to being in pain. "I want to take your temperature," Sam said, hoping his partner wasn't going to give him trouble. He held the thermometer out towards Callen's mouth and Callen obediently accepted it. The thermometer beeped and Sam took it back and read it. "103.7… That's not good." He'd been giving Callen a steady dose of two ibuprofen every six hours but wondered if he ought to raise it to three or four. "I'm going to give the doctor a call."

"Don't," Callen protested. "I'm alright."

Sam gave Callen a long look but then shook his head. "You're not alright, G. I just want his input on giving you more medicine. You said you have a bad headache. Don't you want to see if we can get rid of that?"

Callen hesitated and then relented. He knew he was supposed to be mad at Sam, but right now, he was finding it hard to do so. "Okay."

"Thanks, G." He pulled out his phone and stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Why are you leaving?" Callen asked.

Sam turned to look down at his partner. "I just thought you'd want to rest, G."

"You don't want to talk on the phone in front of me?" Callen asked, beginning to feel irritated. "You are discussing me, Sam. I think I should be able to know what's being said."

"Fine," Sam said as he sat back down. "I'll call from right here, okay?"

"Okay," Callen said as he squirmed around on the bed, trying to get comfortable. He tossed the covers aside in annoyance. "Hot."

Sam sighed softly as he pulled out the doctor's business card and dialed the number on the card. The phone was picked up on the other end of the line almost immediately. "Dr. Irving."

"Hi Dr. Irving…this is Sam Hanna. You came out to see my friend last night?"

"Yes, of course Sam. How is he doing today?"

"Not so great, which is why I'm calling," Sam said. "He's been running some high temperatures with fever dreams, right now he's at 103.7 and he's complaining of a severe headache. I was wondering if I should up the ibuprofen to 600 or 800 milligrams?"

"I didn't say the headache was severe," Callen murmured, but Sam didn't pay any attention to him.

"Do you think he's open to being admitted?" Dr. Irving asked. "We'd be able to make him a lot more comfortable."

"Probably not," Sam said.

"Probably not what?" Callen interrupted, lifting himself up so that he was partially sitting. "What are you telling him, Sam?"

"Excuse me, Doctor," Sam said as he turned to his partner and spoke to him as calmly as he could. "He's asking if you will agree to be admitted, G. Do you want to be?"

"Oh," Callen said, deflating as he let himself drop back against the pillows. "No."

"That's a definite no, Doctor," Sam said, his attention back on the phone call.

"Alright, Sam, let's up him to 800 milligrams, and give him an hour or so. If his temperature doesn't come down though, I think we may need to think about admitting him, no matter what his opinion may be. Call me back and let me know where he's at, okay?"

"Will do, Doc. Thanks." Sam clicked off the phone and turned back to his sick and miserable partner. "The doctor said we should raise the ibuprofen to 800 mg., G, but if that doesn't help, you're going to have to be admitted, okay? We're not going to fool around with this."

"I don't have to be admitted," Callen said. "I have rights."

Sam rolled his eyes as he reached for the ibuprofen on the nightstand and the bottle of water. "Sure, whatever you say, buddy." He opened the bottle and shook out the tablets. "Here, take these."

Callen took the ibuprofen and allowed his eyes to close. "Chickenpox really suck, Sam," he said, just before he fell asleep.

xxxxx

Hungry and curious to see what Millie had brought for breakfast, Sam headed out into the kitchen to explore the contents of the takeout containers. He had just reheated some eggs and an English muffin when his phone buzzed. "Shit," he said when he saw Hetty's name on the caller ID. "Good morning, Hetty," Sam said cheerfully as he clicked on the phone.

"Is it a good morning, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked. "I seem to recall you saying you would let me know what Dr. Irving said about Mr. Callen's condition, but there was no call at all. Was your phone not working properly?"

"I'm sorry, Hetty," Sam said. "It honestly just slipped my mind."

"It's alright, Mr. Hanna. I understand you are taking care of your partner. How is he?"

"He's been running some high temperatures," Sam replied. "I just spoke to the doctor. If G's temperature doesn't come in an hour or so, he wants to admit him."

"Oh dear," Hetty said. "I was afraid of something like this."

"Yeah, I know," Sam said. "He's pretty adamant against being admitted too. It's not going to be pleasant."

"If it comes to it, Mr. Hanna, you let me speak to him," Hetty said. "I'll make sure he doesn't give you any trouble."

"I think I can get him to cooperate," Sam said, cringing at the thought of turning Hetty loose on his sick partner. That would be a definite last resort.

"Alright, Mr. Hanna. I will let you get back to him. Please do keep me apprised of any developments. Let me know if Dr. Irving feels he needs to be admitted. If so, I will be taking a trip out there."

"I'll let you know," Sam said. "Bye, Hetty."

"Goodbye, Mr. Hanna."

Sam took his plate of food and a glass of orange juice back into the bedroom and quietly ate it. He then put a fresh cool compress on Callen's forehead and kept watch over his partner as he slept. At least he appeared to be resting comfortably now and didn't appear to be caught up in nightmares. About an hour and 20 minutes after speaking with the doctor, Sam gently patted Callen's shoulder. "Hey G? Can you wake up for me?"

Callen groaned softly and burrowed further under the covers. "Tired," he mumbled.

"I know you are, you can go right back to sleep, come on, G."

"What?" Callen asked as he opened his eyes and looked drowsily at Sam.

"How's your headache? Are you feeling any better?"

"It's maybe a little better," Callen replied.

"Let me just take your temperature quickly."

"I'm not going to the hospital, Sam," Callen stated. "You can't make me."

"Well, if it comes to it, I hope you're not going to test that theory, G," Sam said, unable to hold back a smile. "I don't think you'll like the consequences. Come on, let me take your temperature."

Callen glared at his partner but let Sam slip the thermometer under his tongue once again. When it beeped, Sam took it out of Callen's mouth and breathed a sigh of relief. "101.8. I guess you dodged a bullet, G." Sam said. "You can go back to sleep now…"

Sam watched as Callen drifted off and then went into the living room to call Hetty and Dr. Irving and let them know that G's temperature had gone down a bit.


	17. Chapter 17

Callen awoke at around 1 o'clock and trudged sleepily out into the living room. "Hey, G." Sam, who was sitting on the sofa, looked up from the book he was reading. With Callen doing a little better, he had decided to give him a little bit of space, figuring that watching him sleep was overkill and would only serve to irritate his partner. "How are you feeling?"

Callen shrugged.

Sam resisted the urge to question him further. "Millie should be here with lunch soon."

"I'm not hungry," Callen said. He walked over to the bookcase and started reading through the titles of the various books, but nothing really jumped out at him. Plus, his head was still somewhat achy so he really wasn't sure he was up to reading anyway. "Are you just going to stay out of work all week?" he asked, looking curiously at his partner.

"I don't know, G," Sam said. "I guess I'll just take each day as it comes."

"Hetty hasn't had a full team in almost three weeks now," Callen said. "She can't be very happy about that."

"She hasn't said anything," Sam said, knowing that she was more concerned about Callen's well-being than putting together a full team, no matter how inconvenient it was to be short-staffed.

"Well, if you want to go home, I can just rent a car." He was all for going home himself, but if truth be told, he wasn't really feeling up to the long car ride yet.

"I'm not in a rush to get home," Sam said. "If you're doing better, maybe we can leave on Thursday or Friday."

"It's Monday now?" Callen asked, looking uncertain.

Sam shook his head. "It's Tuesday, G."

"It is?" Callen asked, discouraged that he wasn't even aware of what day it was. He walked out into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to inspect its contents. Nothing inside appealed to him though so he slammed the door shut, a little bit harder than he had intended, and wandered back into the living room.

"What were you looking for?" Sam asked.

"Nothing…I was just looking."

"Millie said to call if there was anything in particular you wanted from the restaurant."

"I don't want anything," Callen said. He picked up the remote control from the coffee table and sat on the opposite end of the sofa from Sam, then turned on the television set. He flicked through every channel twice but was unable to find anything he wanted to watch. However, he didn't pause long enough to really give anything a chance. Sam had given up on his book, finding himself unable to focus on anything but his obviously bored and unhappy friend.

"You've got your laptop with you, don't you?" Sam asked. "Why don't you go online?"

Callen shook his head. "I don't feel like going online."

"Well…maybe we could talk," Sam said, finally daring to broach the topic.

Callen looked at his partner, but didn't say anything and just then a knock sounded on the front door right before Millie entered the house. "Well, look at you!" she said with a warm smile as she walked into the living room, carrying a shopping bag, which Sam hurried to take from her. "How are you feeling, Grisha? You look a whole lot better than when I saw you last."

"I'm doing better than I was, Millie," Callen said, returning the older woman's smile. "You don't have to keep bringing us food. It's really nice of you, but it's unnecessary."

"I just feel so bad about everything you're going through," Millie said, taking a seat beside him on the sofa. "It's the least I can do for you. Now, is there something particular I can bring you for dinner this evening? The special is pot roast. I brought you some baked macaroni and cheese for lunch. He perked up a little bit at the mention of the macaroni and cheese. It was one of his favorites from the restaurant. Maybe he would try to eat a little bit, after all. "Now how are things going between you and Sam?" she asked, lowering her voice a bit.

Callen slowly shook his head. "He's taking good care of me," he admitted.

"But you haven't really talked?" she asked.

"No…he wants to, but…I don't know if I feel like getting into it right now."

"Well, only you know what's best for you," Millie said, gently patting his shoulder. "You can't force it, although, I do think he has your best interests at heart, just from the little bit I know of him. He seems to be very concerned about you."

Callen sighed and leaned back against the sofa. "I know you're right, but…" he trailed off, thinking back once again to Sam's words, _'You just don't get it, G. My baby girl needed to be with her family, but you don't understand that, you?'_ He didn't know why the words were bothering him so much, but they were. Sam had always assured him he was a part of his family and with those words, he just felt like everything his partner had ever said about them being family was a lie. He glanced over at the kitchen and saw Sam staring at him. He met his partner's eyes for a long moment and then dropped his gaze. He then turned back to Millie, realizing that she was speaking to him.

"You let me know if there's anything special you would like," she said, smiling fondly at him. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but he just seemed to bring out an overwhelming urge inside her to take care of him.

Callen nodded at her. "Thank you, Millie," he said softly. "For everything."

Millie stood up and Sam came walking back into the living room. "I'll walk you out," he said and the two slowly walked toward the front door and then outside. "I wanted to thank you for trying to get him to talk to me, even though it doesn't seem like that's going to be happening any time soon," Sam said as he opened Millie's driver side door and waited for her to get into the car.

"It will happen, Sam," Millie said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Just give him time. He's obviously hurt and he's still sick. He'll come around. Just keep doing what you're doing. He knows you're taking care of him. I'm sure that counts for something."

"Thanks, Millie," Sam said. "I hope you're right."

He closed her car door and watched as she pulled away then he headed back inside the house.

xxxxx

Callen did eat a small amount of the macaroni and cheese and then found that he was fighting tiredness once again. "I think I'm going to take a nap," he said to Sam, glad that the other man had at least temporarily given up on trying to get him to talk. He just didn't have it in him to even try right now.

Sam nodded. "Okay, G…" He wanted to say more, but Callen just seemed so closed off and Sam was basically at a loss for words.

Sam put the leftovers into the refrigerator and straightened up around the kitchen before he went back into the living room where he returned to his book.

xxxxx

Callen opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed was itchiness… intense itchiness. He should have known this was going to happen. "Damn." Still half asleep, he reached over his right shoulder and tried to scratch the worst offending area on his back. He was having a hard time reaching it though. "Stupid chickenpox," he mumbled. Oh yeah, this really was going to suck.

"Uh uh, G," Sam said as he came into the room. "No scratching, buddy. Do you want to end up with scars from these things?"

Callen gave Sam a look of disbelief. "Are you serious right now, Sam? Have you not seen my back? What's another couple of scars? I don't really care."

"Come on, G…those scars are pretty faded now…"

"I still know they're there, Sam," Callen responded quietly, momentarily meeting his partner's eyes as he thought back to that day eight years ago on Venice Beach when five bullets had found their way into his body. He'd been so sure he was going to die. Sam had proven to be a big comfort, holding him in what he had been sure were his last moments on this earth.

"Why don't I fix you another oatmeal bath? That should help."

Callen hesitated, but then sighed and nodded. "Alright."

"You mind if I take your temperature first?" Sam asked, handing the thermometer to his partner.

Callen took the thermometer from Sam and put it under his tongue. He was finding everything about this sickness to be tedious and annoying. He hadn't been home for two and a half weeks and that was where he wanted to be. The thermometer beeped and he took it out of his mouth and glanced at it before handing it to Sam. "It's almost normal," he said, seeing that it was ninety nine degrees.

"That's good, G," Sam said, pleased to see that his temperature was so much lower. "I'll go start the water, okay?"

"Thanks," Callen said, nodding as he settled back on the bed to wait. A few minutes later, Sam came out of the bathroom.

"It's all set," Sam said. He didn't offer to help. His partner looked capable enough to take a bath on his own.

Callen went into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes then settled into the warm water, sighing in relief as the water immediately began to soothe his inflamed skin. He soaked for almost a half hour before he got out of the tub, patted himself dry and changed into a fresh pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He then went back into the bedroom where Sam was waiting. Callen looked at him questionably.

"I thought you might want to try some calamine lotion?" Sam asked, holding up the bottle.

"I think I'm okay for now," Callen said.

"Well, how about some Benadryl?"

Callen considered that and nodded. Benadryl would help with the itchiness and he knew from past experience that it would likely knock him out as well. Bored and itchy were not a particularly pleasant combination and if he could sleep through the majority of this illness he'd be pretty glad to be able to do so.


	18. Chapter 18

_Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed this story (even when I kind of got off track with it) As always, I really appreciate the support._

 _And a special thank you to JaniceS for coming up with the beach idea. I was so stuck on how to end this and really appreciate your help :)_ _I'm very glad this one is done. I thought I was never going to finish it lol._

xxxxx

The next two days passed uneventfully. Millie continued to visit daily, bringing meals and various treats from her restaurant. Callen was slowly improving. The itching was lessening which made him less irritable. He and Sam were being cordial to each other, but their conversations were very formal, with words carefully chosen as Sam did not want to aggravate his partner and Callen just chose not to speak. There was none of the easy banter that they usually shared. Neither of them had made a move to have a real discussion about what had happened. Sam had given up on trying and Callen was not ready to talk about it. On Thursday night, Callen was suffering with yet another bad headache. He really hoped he would stop getting them soon. They definitely weren't any fun.

"I think I'm going to head to bed," Callen said as he got up from the sofa. He and Sam had been watching "The Shawshank Redemption," a movie which he had seen numerous times, and usually loved, but he just couldn't concentrate on it any longer. He felt like staring at the t.v. was only making his headache worse and his eyes were tired and burning.

"Are you okay, G?" Sam asked, a hint of concern in his voice as he glanced over at Callen. It was hard to miss how pale he was and he looked like he was in pain.

"Just a headache. I really need to get some sleep," Callen replied. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, feel better. Good night, G."

"Good night, Sam."

xxxxx

Callen fell asleep almost immediately, but awoke feeling confused and agitated at about 2:30 a.m., with his heart pounding rapidly. He had no recollection of what he had been dreaming about, but it obviously hadn't been a good dream. His headache was somewhat better, but still there, and he felt hot and restless and in need of fresh air. He quietly left the bedroom and went out to the living room where Sam was asleep on the sofa. Being careful not to make any noise, he opened the front door and slipped outside.

xxxxx

Sam stirred in his sleep when the front door clicked shut, but didn't awaken until about 15 minutes later when he looked toward the bedroom and saw that the door was open. "Dammit, G," he mumbled as he got up from the sofa. "You'd better be in there." He went into the bedroom where he found Callen's empty bed, then checked the balcony and the bathroom. "Son of a bitch, not again." The fact that it was the middle of the night made the situation much more dire in Sam's eyes. He was already beginning to imagine his partner drowning in the cold, rough water. He went out to the Challenger and grabbed a high-powered flashlight from the trunk, turned it on, and headed out back towards the beach.

More than a little bit panicked about where Callen could be, Sam shone the light out towards the water, not really paying attention to the shore. That being the case, he didn't see his partner until he almost tripped over him. "What the hell!" Sam yelled at Callen who was sitting on the sand, looking out towards the water. "What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to get some fresh air," Callen said calmly, looking up at Sam.

"At 3 o'clock in the morning? Really, G? You have a damn balcony right outside your bedroom. Wouldn't that have made a little bit more sense?"

"I don't know…maybe," Callen said with a seemingly unconcerned shrug. "I didn't really think about it. I tried not to wake you. Sorry."

Sam sat down in the sand next to his partner, trying to get a grip on his emotions. Callen had scared him half to death, once again, but he didn't seem to care. Granted, the first time, it hadn't been his fault as he'd been feverish and out of it, but that didn't seem to be the case now. "Are you doing this to punish me, G?" he asked quietly, "because if you are, it's working. You should be proud of yourself."

Callen turned his head towards Sam, revealing some emotion in his eyes. "I needed some air. My room was stuffy."

Sam shook his head. "That's bullshit, G. I repeat, you've got a balcony steps away from your bed."

"I had a bad dream."

"You know what? Forget it." Sam got to his feet and leaned down to brush the sand off his sweatpants. "If you don't want to talk, don't. I'm tired of this whole situation."

"You're the one who came out here to begin with, Sam. I sure as hell didn't ask you to. Oh no, that's right. It was Hetty."

Sam glared down at Callen as he tried to control his simmering anger. "Every day… every day that you were gone, I called to try to talk to you, but you wouldn't answer your phone. I left messages which you didn't return. I respected your wishes, I stopped trying to track you down, but I really thought we'd get to a point where we could talk this out. And just so you know, I was coming out here whether or not Hetty agreed with it, because you're my partner and my best friend, and you didn't come into work when you were supposed to and I was worried about you."

Callen didn't respond. He got up from his seated position on the sand and started trudging back towards the house.

"Really, G? You've got no response at all? Nothing?"

Callen continued to walk in silence.

Sam went after his partner and grabbed his shoulder harshly, turning him around. "Dammit, G, talk to me!"

"Don't touch me."

"What are you going to do about it?" Sam taunted. He realized the situation was getting out of hand and that he was acting like a jackass, but he'd had more than enough.

"No, Sam. What are **_YOU_** going to do about it?" Callen asked. "You want to hit me? Go ahead."

At that point, Sam stopped, appearing to deflate, as he took his hand off of Callen's shoulder. "I don't want to hit you, G," he said. "Why would you even think that?"

Callen shook his head. "I've been thinking about lots of things I haven't thought of before," he admitted quietly as he resumed walking back to the beach house.

Sam quickly fell in step beside his partner. "Are you really never going to talk to me about this? I'm sorry, G. You have no idea how sorry I am, but you won't even let me explain or apologize to you."

Finally, Callen stopped walking and faced his partner. "Fine…you want to explain, Sam? Go ahead…I'm listening," he said wearily.

Sam took a deep breath and exhaled before starting to slowly speak. "When Michelle and I got home that day, I was in a foul mood, well before I even reached the house." His eyes met his partner's and he could see that he was at least paying attention to him. "I didn't sleep on the flight home. Some guy sat between Michelle and me and wouldn't switch seats so we could sit together. Who does that?" Sam asked. He still didn't understand why the guy would have chosen to remain in the middle seat between him and his wife. It made no sense to him. "Anyhow, this guy just wouldn't shut up. He kept talking and talking and my head was pounding by the time we landed back in L.A."

Callen gave Sam a sympathetic look. He could identify with how a bad headache could affect someone.

"So, I was in a really lousy mood when we got home, G…and when I found out Kamran had been sick, I don't know…I just snapped. I'm not proud of it, but that's what happened."

Callen stared down at the ground, absently digging a hole in the sand with his foot.

"I wasn't thinking when I said what I said to you. I would have never said it if I had been. I didn't mean it, G. You **_are_** my family. I would trust you with my life as well as the lives of my children. Sure, I would have liked to have known about Kam, but I know you took good care of my daughter. There's no excuse for what I said to you, and I'm sorrier that you will ever know…"

Callen just stood there, considering Sam's words, but still not speaking.

"Come on, G," Sam pleaded quietly. "I think if you search inside your heart, you'll know that what I'm saying is true…"

"You know I've had my issues with trusting people…" Callen finally began to speak softly, shifting his gaze so it was directed on the water, not his partner. "When…when you said that, it made me doubt what I thought we had…"

"I'm sorry, G…I never wanted to make you feel that way."

"Growing up without a family…you learn that you can't depend on anyone but yourself." Callen finally looked away from the water and faced Sam again. "But you were always so persistent and I eventually thought of you, Michelle and your kids as family…"

"We **_are_** family."

"So, I began to think I was wrong about that, but…actions speak louder than words, Sam…You've been here all week, taking care of me, helping me out in whatever way you could…and I do know it's not because of Hetty," he admitted.

"I care about you…"

"I know."

"I'm so sorry, G."

Callen nodded. "I…I know that too."

"So…are we good?" Sam asked, gazing at his partner anxiously.

Callen looked back at Sam and knew he would never give up his friendship with this man based on one thoughtless comment made in the heat of the moment. "Yeah, Sam…we're good," he said softly.

xxxxx

The next morning, both men were already showered and dressed when Millie arrived with their breakfast. "Good morning, Millie," Callen said, smiling at her.

"You're looking very well this morning, Grisha," she said, returning his smile. It didn't take a genius to see that fences had been mended between the two men. She hadn't seen either of them looking so relaxed or content the whole time they had been there. It was very nice to see.

"I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me," Callen said. "You couldn't have been nicer, Millie."

"Why does this sound like goodbye?" she asked, feeling sad at the thought of it.

"We're heading back home today," Sam said, confirming her suspicions. "I think it'll be good for G to finish his recovery in his own house"

Millie nodded. "Of course, you're right. I have to say I'll miss the two of you though," she said with a fond smile. "I've sort of gotten used to you being around."

"We'll miss you too, Millie." Callen reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded check which he handed to her. "I hope this covers everything," he said, "although it doesn't pay you for all the kindness you've shown me since I first arrived here."

Millie unfolded the check and immediately shook her head. "I can't accept this, Grisha," she said. "It's too much."

"We insist," Sam said. "Like G said, you've gone well beyond what you needed to do and we both really appreciate it."

"Please take it," Callen said. "We want you to have it."

Finally, Millie nodded her head. "Alright, although it really is unnecessary."

"We don't feel that way," Sam said.

With that, they said their goodbyes and after some hugs and a few tears from Millie, the woman left them to their breakfast. "You think you'll ever come back here, G?" Sam asked as he began to eat his eggs.

"I don' know," Callen said with a shrug. "Maybe someday for a weekend. I've had more than enough of this place for now though. I mean, Millie's been great, but…"

Sam nodded, having a good idea what his partner meant. He knew Callen never would have ended up here if Sam hadn't said what he'd said.

They finished their breakfast companionably and when they were done they made sure everything was in order. Then, they left the keys on the kitchen table, gathered up their belongings and finally left the beach house to head home.

xxxxx

Sam glanced at Callen who had fallen asleep about 20 minutes into the ride. That told him that Callen definitely still had some recovering to do. It was after morning rush hour and traffic wasn't too heavy so they made good time. Sam had briefly considered going straight home and trying to get Callen to stay with his family, but had decided that would be a very bad idea. His partner was well enough to care for himself and Sam was pretty sure the man just wanted to have some peace and quiet in his own house. It was just about noon when Sam pulled up in front of Callen's house. He was glad to see that Deeks had brought Callen's car over and it was parked in the driveway. "Hey G?" he gently shook his partner's shoulder. "We're home."

Callen opened his eyes, still obviously drowsy. "Can't believe I slept the whole way," he said as he stretched. "You should have woken me."

"Why?" Sam asked. "You obviously needed the sleep. Come on, I'll help you in with your stuff."

"Thanks, Sam," Callen said, deciding to accept Sam's offer without making a fuss. They brought Callen's things inside and put them down neatly in the living room.

"You need anything, G?" Sam asked.

Callen shook his head. "No…I'm good. He then looked at his partner, his eyes thoughtful. "Thanks, Sam…thanks for going out to the beach house and taking care of me the way you did."

"It wasn't anything, G," Sam said, with a soft sigh. "You wouldn't have even gotten sick if you hadn't been taking care of Kamran."

"Well…I appreciate it anyway, Sam," Callen stated. "Thank you."

"You're welcome…" Sam hesitated. "You're sure you don't need anything?"

"I'm fine, Sam…really," Callen assured his partner. "You should get home to your wife and daughter. I'm sure they miss you."

"Okay…you'll let me know how you're doing?"

"I will," Callen said with a nod.

"I'll get out of your hair then," Sam said with a faint smile. "Take care of yourself, G."

"Thanks, Sam…I will…"

xxxxx

Callen didn't return to work until the following Wednesday. Hetty had insisted he see a doctor before returning and that had resulted in him having to spend another couple of days at home. By the time Wednesday morning rolled around, Callen felt like he'd had enough time off to last a lifetime. He stopped off at a local bakery, which specialized in homemade cinnamon rolls, and bought a large box of the hot treats. He headed into work.

"Callen!" Kensi was the first to spot him and she gave him a hug. "I'm so happy to see you." She looked at the box he was carrying. "What smells so heavenly?"

"Cinnamon rolls," Callen told her, allowing her to take the box.

"Hey Callen. Welcome back. How are you doing?" Deeks asked him.

"I'm good, Deeks. Much better than I was."

"Chickenpox…that must have really sucked," Deeks commented.

Callen nodded as he locked eyes with the younger man. "Yeah, it pretty much did," he said. "I'm really glad it's over with."

"I can imagine."

"Oh my God, Callen," Kensi said, holding her partly eaten cinnamon roll. "These things are so warm and good. They melt in your mouth like butter."

Unable to resist after her description, both Callen and Deeks reached into the box for their own.

"Oh Kensalina, you do not lie," Deeks said after eating his first bite. "Mm… these things are superb. You're going to have to get them again, Callen."

"What's going on here?" Sam came into the bullpen, grinning at his teammates. He leaned down to Callen and gave him a quick hug. "Welcome back, buddy."

"Thanks, Sam. You're late. Do you want a cinnamon bun?" Callen asked.

Sam quickly shook his head as he eyed the rich treats. "I'm not late, G. I'm right on time and do you know how much fat, sugar and calories are in those things? A lot."

Callen rolled his eyes as he, Kensi and Deeks continued to eat them. "I don't care. They're really good," Callen said.

"To die for good," Kensi said.

"I can't disagree with them," Deeks said with a grin. "I think they're worth every last calorie. Besides, why are the food police always stating the obvious?"

Sam looked at the box and couldn't help being tempted by its contents. They did smell really good. "Maybe I'll just have a taste of one," he said.

"Oh I wouldn't do that, Sam," Deeks said. "If you do, you're not going to be able to stop yourself from eating the whole thing. Better to just stay away."

"Yes, Sam, resist temptation." Callen smiled smugly at his partner as he licked a bit of icing off his finger.

"Welcome back, Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she stepped into the bullpen area and carefully looked him up and down, satisfied to see him looking healthy. "It's good to see you. I trust that you're feeling well?"

Callen nodded. "I'm good, Hetty. All recovered."

"I'm glad to hear that," Hetty said. "You have a bit of paperwork to catch up on. I've left a list of what I need on your desk."

"A list?" Callen asked, looking confused, "but I haven't been here, Hetty. How can there be a list? I don't remember being all that behind before I was off. And I did some work when I was at Sam's house."

"Team evaluations will be due soon and there are some new procedures you need to sign off on."

"Oh, well that's not that bad," Callen said, relieved.

"And, I really don't believe you are quite as caught up as you claim to be, Mr. Callen," Hetty said with a smile. "Better get to it." She then reached into the box for a cinnamon roll. "I've heard these are quite delicious indeed," she said as she left the bullpen and returned to her office.

Callen sighed as he went to his desk to get started, ignoring Sam's chuckle and the smiles of his junior teammates.

The morning passed by excruciatingly slowly, but then finally, that afternoon, they got a case. At that point, they left the office to investigate the crime scene and interview persons of interest. The afternoon passed by a good deal more quickly than the morning had.

As Sam and Callen drove back to OSP from the boatshed, Sam glanced over at his partner. "So…Michelle wanted me to invite you over for dinner tonight…but…I understand if you'd rather not…"

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Callen asked. He'd thought they were over everything that had happened. He was trying to move past it. Obviously, Sam was having trouble with that.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, G…"

"What time?"

"Six o'clock?"

Callen nodded. "I'll be there."

xxxxx

After work, Callen headed home to pick up the doll he had bought for Kamran at the flea market. He had considered saving it for a special occasion like her birthday or even Christmas, but changed his mind and decided not to wait. He arrived at the Hanna house at 6 p.m. sharp, rang the bell and waited for someone to come to the door. Kamran answered almost immediately.

"Uncle Callen," Kamran said, hugging him tightly. "I am so, so happy to see you." She curiously eyed the box he was carrying, but didn't inquire about it.

"Something smells good," he said, sniffing appreciatively as he entered the house. He and Sam had barely had time to grab a quick bite earlier that day and he was starved.

"Mom even made chocolate mousse for dessert," Kam informed him. "She was happy you were coming too. She cocked her head, giving him a wondering look. "So, are you and daddy all made up now?" she asked as she led him into the living room.

"We are," Callen replied as he took a seat on the familiar and comfortable sofa.

"I'm so glad," Kamran said as she sat down next to him. "I've missed you and I've been sad that you and daddy were quarreling."

"I know you've been sad," Callen said. "That's partly why I brought you this, to make it up to you."

Kamran's eyes widened as she looked at the box with excitement.

"Haven't you given this child enough gifts?" Michelle asked Callen as she came into the living room, a smile on her face. She went over to Callen and embraced him. "It's really good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Michelle," Callen said, returning her smile.

"Is it okay if I open it, mom?" Kamran asked.

"Oh I suppose so," Michelle said, shaking her head good naturedly. "You're spoiling this child rotten, Uncle Callen."

"I won't get her anything else until her birthday," Callen promised.

"Hmm…" Michelle said, not quite believing him.

"I took the chicken out of the oven," Sam informed his wife as he came into the living room. "It looks like everything else is done. Hey, G."

"Hey, Sam."

"What do we have here?" Sam asked, his attention drawn to his daughter who was opening up the box Callen had given to her.

"Uncle Callen gave this to me," Kamran explained.

"Yeah, I figured," Sam said, giving a mock look of disapproval to his partner who put on his best innocent expression.

Kamran finally got the tape off the box and got it open. "Ooh," she said, pulling the doll out of the box with her eyes shining brightly. "She's so beautiful."

"She is beautiful," Michelle said, her interest caught by the doll, as she shook her head. "Not inexpensive either, I'd say." She shot a pointed look in Callen's direction.

Callen's cheeks flushed, but he didn't say anything to confirm or deny what Michelle had said.

"Thank you, Uncle Callen," Kamran said as she hugged him tightly. "I love her. She's going to be one of my favorites in my collection. I'll find a very special place to put her."

"I'm glad you like it, sweetheart."

"I guess we should eat before dinner gets cold," Michelle stated. She gently grabbed Callen's arm and stopped him before they went into the dining room. "That was very generous of you, but entirely unnecessary."

"I know," he said softly. "I just saw it and…I don't know…I had to buy it for her."

Sam was about to say something, but decided not to. He didn't want to create any more waves between him and his partner, especially over something as trivial as a doll.

xxxxx

After a tasty and relaxing dinner, the group sat in the living room for a short while before Michelle got up with a sigh. "Come on, Kamran," she said to her daughter. "If you want help with your math homework, we've got to get to it now, before it gets any later."

"Shouldn't you be helping her, Sam?" Callen asked as he grinned at his partner. "You're the one who's the mathemagician, aren't you?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Doesn't it ever get old, G?" he asked.

"No…not really," Callen said, still smiling. He turned his attention to Michelle. "I'm actually going to head home now. Thank you for inviting me to dinner. It was delicious."

"You know you're always welcome here," Michelle said as she embraced him.

"I do know that," he said.

"Goodbye, Uncle Callen," Kamran said, hugging Callen after her mom released him. "Thank you again for the doll. It was very, very nice of you."

"You're welcome. I'll see you soon, okay?"

Kamran nodded happily. "See you soon." She and Michelle then went off to Kamran's room.

"Come on, G. I'll walk you out," Sam said.

Callen got up from the sofa and the two men went outside to where Callen's car was parked. "Michelle was right, G…the doll for Kamran really wasn't necessary, but I can see how much she likes it. Thank you for bringing it."

"I just felt kind of bad about everything," Callen said. "I wanted to do something special for her.

Sam shook his head. "You're not the one who should be feeling bad, G."

"Yeah, well…" Callen shrugged. "It was good to get back to work today…I think it helps."

Sam nodded. "Yeah…I think so too…"

"Even though you wouldn't eat one of my fattening cinnamon rolls," Callen said with a grin.

"Bring me a smoothie next time."

"I think I'll let Michelle handle those for you."

"Probably a good idea. She knows exactly how I like them."

"Well, I'd better get going," Callen said as he opened his car door. "I'll see you in the morning."

"You want me to pick you up?" Sam asked, almost looking as if he was afraid to hear the answer. "I mean…I get it if you don't want me to…"

Callen answered without hesitation. "Sure, Sam. Thanks. That'd be great."

Sam appeared to brighten when he heard Callen's response. "Okay, see you in the morning, G."

"See ya, Sam."

Sam waved as his partner headed off then turned around and walked up the pathway to his house. He opened the door to and walked inside, feeling immensely better with a smile on his face. It had taken some time, but it looked like things were finally back on track between him and his best friend.


End file.
